Joseph Seng
June 19, 1930 — September 11, 2016
Joseph Francis Seng, 86, of Mount Airy, MD, known to friends as "Joe," passed away on Sunday, September 11, 2016, at the Brinton Woods Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Sykesville, MD. He was the husband of Joyce Rose Seng for more than 60 years.
Born June 19, 1930, Joe was the fourth of five children born to the late Wilfrid and Gertrude Seng of Milwaukee, WI.
In his youth, Joe spent summers on a farm where he developed a love for horses. He graduated from Marquette University High School, a Jesuit school. He enrolled in Marquette University while also working for the Nash Motors automobile assembly plant.
Following the outbreak of the Korean War, Joe joined the United States Air Force and flew in B-29 heavy bomber combat missions from Japan, later working as an aerial reconnaissance photo-interpreter stationed in Omaha, NE. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Omaha.
Returning to Milwaukee in 1955, he met his soon-to-be wife Joyce, got married on Independence Day, 1956; and moved to the Washington, DC area.
Earlier in 1956, Joe was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency as a photo intelligence officer. He was commended for his contributions as a photo-interpreter during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
For 30 years, Joe and Joyce and their family lived in Rockville, MD, and worshipped at the Shrine of St. Jude Catholic Church in Rockville. All their children attended St. Jude’s School.
Joe retired from the CIA in 1985, and filled his life with a variety of volunteer and community activities, including carpentry work and therapeutic horseback riding programs. After moving to Mt. Airy, MD in 1988, he and Joyce acquired several horses which they stabled in their barn on their new five-acre homestead. He authored books recounting his family history and in-depth chronicles telling the stories of the neighboring towns of Monrovia and New Market, Maryland. He also wrote human interest articles for The Frederick Gazette for seven years.
Joe was predeceased by his son Wilfrid ("Will") L. Seng in 2003, his parents and four siblings: Wilfrid Seng, Jr.; Winifred Seng (Sister Marie Wilfrid Seng, OP), Mary Seng Roob and Mark Seng.
Joe is survived by his wife Joyce and four children: John Seng and wife Christine; Will Seng's wife Kathy Seng; Laura (Seng) Knutsen and husband Kris, Mary Seng, and Michael Seng; six grandchildren: Victoria Nelson, Joseph Seng, Bobby Seng, Thomas Seng, Heidi Knutsen and Bridget Knutsen; and great-grandson, Cameron Seng.
The celebration of Joe Seng’s life begins with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM on Monday, September 19, 2016 at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church at 4103 Prices Distillery Road, Ijamsville, MD. Interment will take place at the old St. Ignatius Country Church cemetery immediately following Mass, 8817 Urbana Church Road, Frederick, MD; followed by a memorial luncheon after returning to the St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish Hall in Ijamsville.
Memorial donations in memory of Joe Seng may be made to
St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Community,http://www.e-stignatius.org/donate/
www.sheppardpratt.org
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