Jean Seder of Gwynedd, a prolific author, journalist, historian, conservationist, and social activist, died on February 6 aged 102, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
A tireless researcher, Seder was the author of the award-winning Voices of Kensington: Vanishing Mills, Vanishing Neighborhoods in 1982, as well as eight more books, including Voices of Another Time in 1985 and A Certain Tract of Land in 1988. She was also a poet and children’s writer, and contributed freelance stories to various publications. In addition to all of that, she also wrote a regular column for the Times Chronicle in Jenkintown for seven years.
Seder was a founding member of the Wyncote chapter of the National Audubon Society. She served as inspiration for A Certain Tract of Land, due to her determination to preserve and maintain the Crosswicks Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary in Abington Township.
“I’m not anti-development,” she said in an interview in 1988. “I’m just saying let’s be intelligent about it.”
She liked making crafts with her children when they were younger and also enjoyed walking her rescue dogs in nature. At 102, she could still recite Shakespeare’s sonnets.
“She was a presence,” said her daughter Susan.
Read more about Jean Seder in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
