Allyn Seymour

Allyn Seymour, 96, of West Hartford, CT passed away peacefully at his home on March 11, 2020. He was surrounded by his loving family during his final days. Mr Seymour was born on May 17, 1923, son of Clarence W. Seymour and Dorothy Belle Allyn. He attended Beach Park School, Kingswood School and Yale College, class of 1945. When World War II interrupted his college years, the Army sent him to the University of West Virginia and University of Michigan, where he studied public health and infectious diseases. He was then deployed to the Philippines. While in Manila he was given a couple nicknames: ‘Horizontal Al’ and ‘Lieutenant Babyface.’ They masked a strong young man with a moral compass: Allyn once got an unhinged commandant of a POW camp sent stateside before the officer could cause more harm. After college - where he received a B.E. - he worked with his father at Allyn Realty Company, which managed, among other assets, the Allyn House, a hotel built by his great grandfather in 1857. In 1951, Allyn married the love of his life, Frances Waterman. They had four sons. Their house became a hub for the neighborhood kids - flashlight tag, making homemade ice cream, basketball, etc. He always marveled that, no matter how many windows later, it never seemed to be the same kid who tossed the ball through the garage window. Countless kids and not a few adults enjoyed hours of skating and pond hockey because of his chairmanship of the skating committee at the Hartford Golf Club. We think he might have been the committee’s only member. No matter. He got the groundskeeping staff to regularly flood an unused piece of property so that everybody could enjoy what he thought was one of winter’s two supreme delights. His other winter delight was skiing. Skiing at Lake Placid and then Stratton was later replaced by cross-country skiing on the Trapp Family trails in Stowe. He was a favorite driver for our neighborhood Renbrook carpool, perhaps because of the frequent stops at Friendly’s on the way home for ice cream cones. (He really liked ice cream.) Thrice weekly, he enjoyed decades of tennis and paddle tennis, conversation and camaraderie with the seniors at the Hartford Golf Club. Fran and Allyn spent some 36 summers in Marblehead, Massachusetts enjoying their pool, the salt air and the ocean view. They also enjoyed their small farm in Salisbury Cove, Maine, where they enjoyed picking apples, watching the deer and walks to the point. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Frances Waterman Seymour, four sons and their spouses, Karen and Allyn Seymour Jr., Lisa and Robert W. Seymour, Beverly and Jonathan E. Seymour, Wendy and Thomas L. Seymour. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Andrea, Abby, Sam, Jess, Kate, Eliza, Megan, Jonathan, Bradd, Katie, Elizabeth and Alex; and great grandchildren, Carolina, Annabel, Evelyn, Theo and Baxter. The family would like to thank all the wonderful caregivers - with a special thank you to Wendy Lentini. Due to the Coronavirus, there will be a private funeral for the family. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers please contribute to Kingswood-Oxford School, Hartford Healthcare or a charity of your choice. Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, West Hartford has care of arrangements.