Janet Seipel (1936-2021)
Jun. 20—Janet Seipel, who promoted a vibrant Waterville as she made design and fashion central to businesses she opened in the community, died Tuesday in her Monclova Township home. She was 84.
She had been in declining health, especially the last year, her daughter Dr. Kim Seipel Carrow said.
Mrs. Seipel, who had been a partner in the former Smedlap's Smithy restaurant, was a past president of the Waterville Chamber of Commerce and was Waterville's 1991 "citizen of the year" — an honor awarded in 1984 to her husband, Ferd, a builder and Realtor.
"She and my father really dedicated their careers to our little town, Waterville," daughter Kim said. Her husband helped develop a former factory warehouse into a mall that reflected its 19th-century heritage, Peddlers' Alley, and she opened businesses there.
Mrs. Seipel's enterprises included Woodhouse Clothiers, Polka Dot Tree Bath Shop, and Lollipop Tree Children's Clothing.
An early venture, in 1970, was the Emporium on Third Street in Waterville, a dress shop she and Ruth Reynolds opened in what had been J.W. Rupp and Son general store. The landmark canal store was a Valentine's present from Mrs. Seipel's husband, who according to a 1970 Toledo Times story said, "You've always wanted a dress shop. Go to it. Keep the store's history — and give it a future."
In the early 1980s, through her Woodhouse Clothiers, she commissioned the creation of skirts decorated with Waterville images — the interurban bridge over the Maumee River; Roche de Boeuf in the Maumee; even a heron.
"I love Waterville," Mrs. Seipel told The Blade in 1982.
She outfitted the interiors of the houses her husband built, and offered her design and decorating services to clients through her business, Riverton Supply Interior Design.
She had a good eye, her daughter Renee Breymaier said, and her interiors reflected then-current trends, yet "she tried to do a little ahead of the times and went out on a limb it would take off.
"Making people happy and being different, she enjoyed that," daughter Renee said. "People trusted her opinion."
Her daughter Kim said: "She was an entrepreneur and had a lot of energy. She had the gift of knowing what people want, and she wanted to make people happy. People gravitated toward her because she was loving and fun."
She was born Nov. 27, 1936, in Lancaster, Pa., to Viola and Willis Long and was a graduate of Columbia. She and her first husband lived for a time in Philadelphia and then moved with daughter Kim and son Scott to Waterville. She worked at Johns Manville as an office assistant.
After she and Mr. Seipel married, he adopted her daughter and son and together had a daughter.
"She was a wonderful wife to my dad and a great mom and always there for us," daughter Kim said.
"She had a welcoming smile. Her eyes showed the happiness and joy in talking to you," she said, adding, "She would be the life of the party. She was a lot of fun."
She was a fan of Ohio State football and a regular participant in the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer, which supports the Arthur G. James Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, among other entities. The first cruise, in 2008, to Nassau, Bahamas, and Coco Cay Island was a family vacation.
Surviving are her husband, Ferd Seipel, whom she married Aug. 3, 1963; daughters Dr. Kim Seipel Carrow and Renee Breymaier; son, J. Scott Seipel; brother, Jim Long; 10 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Friday at Peinert-Dunn Funeral Home, Waterville. A memorial Mass will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. John XXIII Church, Perrysburg.
The family suggests tributes to her church, St John XXIII.
First Published June 20, 2021, 12:00am
