Robert Atkinson Seeley

Seeley—Robert Atkinson Seeley, 81, on October 4, 2024, of complications from age-associated issues, at his home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa. Bob was born on May 6, 1943, at Germantown Hospital. His family were members of Plymouth Meeting in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Bob graduated from Friends Select School in Philadelphia in 1961. In 1965, he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Bob participated in the March on Washington in 1963. After graduating from college in the midst of the Vietnam War, Bob filed as a conscientious objector and served alternative service for two years in Sumter, S.C., with an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) project.

When Bob returned from Sumter in 1968, he attended a program that brought young people together from the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics through the work of the Friends Service Council, AFSC, and the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR. That year the trip was held in the Soviet Union. Bob met Ruth Ward, a Quaker from Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England, who was leading the British delegation. Bob and Ruth married later that year under the care of Newcastle upon Tyne Meeting. They returned to Philadelphia and bought a house in Germantown, where their daughter, Laura, was born.

Bob joined the Philadelphia office of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors in 1968. He studied the dynamics of war and peace, became an expert in Selective Service law, and worked for 25 years as a counselor to fellow COs and trainer to other counselors.

Bob was passionate about writing. His aim was to explore complex situations and present them in ways that all readers could understand. He wrote articles for Friends Journal, Pacifist Bulletin, and other publications. His Handbook for Conscientious Objectors was published in 1981, and he wrote the Draft Counselor’s Manual in 1982, Advice for Conscientious Objectors in the Armed Forces in 1984, and the Handbook of Nonviolence in 1986. Bob also wrote an unpublished Sherlock Holmes novel.

Bob was a member of Germantown Meeting for most of his adult life. He served on many meeting committees that affirmed his commitment to peace and social concerns.

Outside of his human rights activism, Bob enjoyed many pursuits, including playing acoustic blues guitar, cooking, reading, walking around Germantown, taking care of many cats over the years, and rooting for the Phillies through thick and thin. Bob loved to decorate for the seasons, especially on the porch of the house that he shared with Ruth, where he made sure that the decorative lights were on each night to brighten up the neighborhood.

Bob loved Germantown. He was an avid urbanist with a particular interest in how humans interact with their environment. Bob’s and Ruth’s focus was with groups trying to rescue Germantown from years of neglect by the city, huge empty buildings, and people misusing grant money. He published Discover Germantown starting in 2003, a website started as a project for Germantown Friends School. He worked for many years with the Friends of Vernon Park, helping to maintain the biggest green space near his home. For the last ten years, he organized “Walk Germantown,” an interesting mix of people he would take on informal walks.

Bob embraced evolving computer technology over the years, and upon his retirement founded Desktop Resources to advise nonprofits and others.

Bob is survived by his wife, Ruth A. Seeley; one child, Laura J. Seeley; and one brother, Martin Ward (Judith).