Christine Mary Sehy

Christine will long be remembered and missed. She had many important titles in life including, daughter, sister, sister in law, aunt, great aunt, cousin and friend. Just imagine what an impact she had on so many people, having 16 brothers and sisters, 15 brother and sister in laws, over 200 nieces and nephews (including great nieces and nephews), and many cousins and friends. Christine was diagnosed at birth with Down Syndrome. Because she had loving parents, she was brought home despite doctors telling them she should go to Coldwater Regional Mental Health Center. The doctors told her parents that she would be no more than a vegetable (what an awful word for a human being). The doctors said she would never walk, talk or even know them. What a welcome she received when she came home! She was loved, rocked, held, kissed and cuddled as all babies deserve to be. By two years old she was walking because she had siblings who would help her prove the doctors wrong: she would not be a vegetable. By four years old she was going to the Kennedy Center in Kalamazoo where she graduated when she was 26. During Christine’s school career she had several excellent teachers who helped her learn to read, write and learn math skills up to about a second-grade level. She was very proud to show off her reading and math skills. She was in several Christmas programs at Kennedy Center and learned fun Christmas songs. In one school program she sang Hard Hearted Hanna and was so cute!! Christine’s school days were not always happy days. Christine attended school when there were a lot of new discoveries for teachers working with people who had special needs. One year a teacher told her she was too old to play with dolls and she was not to talk about dolls. She came home one day and said she couldn’t go to a circus she wanted to see because her teacher said “that is for children”. She was being taught to be an adult and she wasn’t finding that fun at all. Her family didn’t let this stop them from taking her to Disney World three times, to Alabama concerts, on road trips, movies and even buying her hew dolls and stuffed animals she loved. Special Olympics were a part of Christine’s life and she loved competing in them. She won a gold medal in the frisbee throw and several ribbons in other events. Bowling was a favorite of hers and if they gave medals for slowest rolling bowling ball, Christine would have had another gold!! At home Christine was a typical sibling in most ways. She wanted her own space as one sister, Margie, found when she visited with her husband and children from out of state. Because Christine had the largest bedroom at the time, she was expected to give up her room for their visit. When Margie was ready to get packed to go home, she went to Christine’s room and to her surprise, Christine had already packed her bags and set them outside her door! She wanted her room back!! As most people do, Christine loved to swim, ride her bike, dance, go camping and visit family. Playing the card game “Concentration” with her was fun and she was very good at it! Cats were always in her life. She had one that would ride in the basket of her three-wheeled bike. Christine would tap on the basket and the cat jumped in! On her days home from School, she loved to watch TV. Her favorite shows were Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, The Lucy Show and any show with music. Her favorite band was Alabama and she was thrilled to meet them twice! Because of her love of music she learned to play a few of her favorite songs on the piano and her guitar. Christine was baptized into the Catholic faith, made her first Holy Communion and was Confirmed. As an adult she continued to worship in Friendship class, attending great concerts and Sunday services where she made many friends. The last twenty-six years of Christine’s life was spent under the watchful eye of our sister Helen who gave her as much love as a person could. If Christine could say it, I’m sure she would say; “Thank you Helen for making sure I was taken care of with unconditional love, and I’m telling Ma”. Christine led a pretty normal and balanced life when it was all said and done. The words of the song Well Done by The Afters seems fitting; What will it be like when my pain is gone and all the worries of this world just fade away? What will it be like when You call my name and that moment when I see you face to face? I’m waiting my whole life to hear You say, Well done, well done my good and faithful one. Welcome to the place where you belong. Well done, well done, My beloved child. It can be said again…Christine will be missed very much by ALL her family. Christine was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Esther (Commissaris) Sehy and a brother, Andrew Sehy. She is survived by her siblings: William (Jean McNett) Sehy, Schoolcraft; Mary (Bruce) Bowersox, Alabama; Eleanor (Bruce) Firlik, Wayland; Edward (Susan Hitzman) Sehy, Scotts; Margaret (Jack) Cesar, Alabama; Marie (David) Hartman, Walhalla and Arizona; Paul (Dorothy Hitzman) Sehy, Ohio; Frances Goebel, Kalamazoo; Anna (Fred) Cagney, Florida; Joan (Mike) Kowalski, Rudyard; Henry (Anne Shekleton) Sehy, Vicksburg; Helen (Dave) Kidder, Plainwell; Patricia (Jim) Hathaway, Holland; Thomas (Theresa Carra) Sehy, Sturgis; Katherine Johnson, Ohio. Christine Mary Sehy, of Kalamazoo, formerly of Scotts passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 18, 2020, at the age of 57. The family will receive friends on Thursday, from 4 to 7pm at the McCowen & Secord Funeral Home, Rupert-Durham Chapel, 409 South Main Street, Vicksburg, MI (269-649-1697). There will be a Wake Service on Thursday beginning at 6:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, at 11:00 am at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, with another gathering one hour prior to the service. The burial will be at Boughton Cemetery. Please visit Christine's webpage at www.mccowensecord.com where you can read her complete obituary, sign the guestbook, and share a memory with the family. Contributions in Christine’s memory can be made to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan and/or Adult Down Syndrome Center 1610 Luther Lane, Park Ridge, IL 60068 or an organization of your choice.