Jeannie Seltzer

Madison, Wis./Royal Palm Beach, Fla. - H. Jean (Jeannie) Seltzer, age 88, died peacefully on December 6, 2012, at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, Illinois, following a courageous four month struggle to recover from lung cancer surgery. She was born on November 24, 1924 and lived her first 68 years in Madison until she and her husband, Bernard (Bernie) Seltzer, retired to Royal Palm Beach, Florida in 1992.
She is survived by her son Robert Seltzer and daughter-in-law Jody Schmeck (Elgin, Ill.), her daughter Roni Neymark (Hopkins, Minn.), her son Jon Seltzer (Waterbury, Conn.), her granddaughters Rachel Neymark (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Samantha Neymark (Springville, Calif.), and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by husband Bernie in 2003, her parents, William and Pauline Sinaiko, and her five older sisters, Esther Cohn, Ruth Max, Beatrice Marlowe, Doris Katz, and Lois Webb.
Jeannie graduated from Madison West High School in 1942 and attended the University of Wisconsin. In 1946, Jeannie and Bernie were married after Bernie returned from military service in the South Pacific. After living in Brooklyn, New York, they settled in Madison in 1949. Jeannie worked as an interior designer for a Madison custom home builder in the 1960s and for H. C. Prange's department store from the early 1970s until her retirement in 1992.
Jeannie was first and foremost a loving and supportive mom for her children and grandchildren. She was also a woman of many talents. Not only was she an accomplished interior designer, she was an artist who spent many years creating portraits in pastel for numerous clients. While living in Madison, she was a member of Beth Israel Synagogue where she served as the sisterhood president. She also was a member of Temple Beth El. In Royal Palm Beach, she was an active member of Temple Beth Zion, Hadassah, the Crestwood Performing Arts League, which raised funds for local school music programs, and the Palm Beach County Democratic Party. Jeannie had many interests which included weekly mahjong and canasta with friends, swimming, water aerobics, cross-word puzzles, scrabble, reading, knitting, theater, and playing the piano. She loved Wisconsin football and attended games as recently as last year.
The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. at Cress Funeral Service, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. A reception lunch will follow at Temple Beth El, 2702 Arbor Drive, Madison.
The family suggests memorial contributions be sent to Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, 1712 Second Avenue North, Lake Worth, FL 33460; Friends of the Palm Beach County Library, 3650 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL 33404, or another charity of your choice.