SMYRNA – Charlotte Duerr Reit Seager, 73, of Reit Road, passed away Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 at her home.
She was born Feb. 22, 1934 in Norwich, a daughter of the late Richard M. and Helene L. Duerr Reit. She attended elementary school in a one room schoolhouse in Stanbro and graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 1951 from Otselic Valley Central School. She received her BS in Home Economics from Cornell University in 1955 and her MS in Education from SUNY Oneonta. While at Cornell, she was a member of Kappa Delta Epislon; was President of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority; a member of Ad-Domecon Council and Vice President of the Women’s Student Government Association. On Aug. 20, 1955, Charlotte was united in marriage to Barton D. Seager at the Methodist Church in South Otselic. Mrs. Seager was a high school teacher of home economics, child development, foods and health education beginning in Naples and then in Staten Island. For the majority of her teaching career, Charlotte taught and served as Head of the Department in the Arlington School System in the Town of LaGrange, Poughkeepsie. During this period, Charlotte also wrote the Home Economics curriculum for the New York State Department of Education. Following that, she returned to Chenango County, teaching at the Greene High School, and then Sherburne-Earlville Central School, retiring in 1992.
Charlotte was a very strong supporter and active over her entire lifetime in 4H and Cornell Cooperative Extension, as a member, educator, volunteer and mentor. She served for eight years on the Board of Directors for Dutchess County Cornell Cooperative Extension and then as a Board Member for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County from 2000-2006. For over 40 years, she served as a 4H program volunteer and educator in Dutchess and Chenango counties. She was also a 4H judge in Duchess, Chenango and Otsego counties. Finally, for over 30 years, she was very active in recruiting young students for Cornell through the Cornell Admissions Alumni Ambassador network. Charlotte also taught basic as well as advanced sewing classes, including flat pattern design and clothing construction, offered as Adult Education through both Dutchess County Cooperative Extension as well as Cooperative Extension of Chenango County.  Charlotte served as a judge for the Needlepoint and Handiwork items for many years of the Adult Open Class, Arts and Crafts Competition at the New York State Fair.
Music was her lifelong passion. She had a beautiful soprano voice and played both the clarinet and piano. Through her lifetime, she was a member of the Smyrna Citizen’s Bank; South Otselic Volunteer Firemen’s Band; Chenango County 4h Band; Sage Chapel Choir; Cornell Little Red Band; Cornell Concert Band and Women’s Glee Club; Poughkeepsie Camerata Chorale; and most recently, the Sherburne Community Chorus.
Charlotte was currently a member of the United Church of Christ in Sherburne. She had also been a member of the South Otselic Methodist Church, the North Presbyterian Church in Elmira, and the Freedom Plains Presbyterian Church in LaGrange.
Surviving are Barton, her husband of 52 years; her children, Gerard and Teresa Seager of Smyrna; Jeffrey and Jody Seager of Kannapolis, N.C.; Karlyn and John Myers of Plymouth; her grandchildren, Lauren Teresa, Sarah Beth, Martha Katherine, Reva Leigh, Andrew Waters, Kyle Duerr, Justin Ryan and Corey Drew Seager, Jessica Charlotte and Michelle Katherine Bender.
Funeral services will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday from the United Church of Christ, East State St., Sherburne.
Graveside services and interment will be 1 PM Saturday, in the Seager Family Cemetery, Old Prattsburg Rd., Naples.
Friends are invited to call at the Burgess & Tedesco Funeral Home, 10 S. Main St., Sherburne on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, Charlotte’s family has requested donations in her memory be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County, 21 Hayes St., Norwich, NY 13815.