A. L. Seamands

Albert Lee Seamands was born on January 21, 1930 to Isaac Wesley Seamands and Mildred (Chapman) Seamands in Lander Wyoming. He was preceded in death by his parents and his three siblings Wesley Jr, Irene (twins) and Lucille. Al loved growing up in Wyoming, sometimes referring to himself as a farmer boy and often shared stories of the fun times he had with his friends. One story in particular involved traveling to and from Thermopolis for football games. He and his pals Paul Freese and Jim Guschewsky (who's father owned a car dealership) would drive to the game in a borrowed car and on the way home, late at night, Jim would always say, "well, guys, your choice. We haven't enough power for both, so what'll it be -  lights or music?" They always chose the music, of course, which made for some pretty exciting nighttime drives.

The Seamands family originally moved to Lander with the Louie Lake Project. They and everyone else who got trapped by that scam, lost everything when it was proved to be fictitious. They soon rallied though and started over by growing choice strawberries and raspberries in the now Mortimore Lane and Hillcrest Drive area that were enjoyed by the local folk and so created their new livelihood, selling out daily even during the worst of the depression. Their daughter Mildred (Al's mother) and her husband Isaac soon joined them to help, and eventually started a dairy farm in the same area. Al remembers those days as being hard. He woke early, milked cows, went to the Baldwin General Store to deliver groceries, went to school, back to Baldwin's after school to deliver more groceries, and then home to milk the cows again, eat dinner and fall into bed for the whole thing to repeat itself the next day. He did say though that his love for "fine clothes" started with his job at Baldwin General Store - especially Pendleton shirts.

Al joined the navy in 1948 for a one year program , along with his friend Keith Braketa. They chose the navy, they said, because they figured the white uniforms meant they were a cleaner branch of the military and they would have a dry bed to sleep in. When Al enlisted and the military found out about his mother's nursing career they directed him towards being a navy corpsman. He was stationed in Sacramento, California. His sister Irene and her husband Lloyd lived in Ventura, California and Al learned he could hitch a ride on a military plane for $10 and go see them. He did this several times before asking his sister if she knew of a pretty girl he could ask out on a date. She certainly did. Her landlady across the patio had a pretty sixteen year old daughter named Janet. Al walked across the patio to find this Janet and found her, perched on top of a tall ladder in old painting clothes, hair wrapped in a kerchief, and holding a soppy paintbrush as she painted her bedroom. They chatted and he eventually asked if he could help her paint. She said yes, handed him the dripping paint can,  which he carefully accepted wearing his above mentioned navy whites.

Al was in the navy for a year and, after several dates with Janet, left the area to return to Wyoming, with the promise that he would return if she would be his girl friend. She said yes. Al and Janet married on August 20,1950 and settled, as he promised, in Ventura, California so she could live close to her family. Shortly after their marriage Al was recalled into the navy during the Korean War and was stationed at the Oakland Navy hospital. Three of their four daughters were born in California and Al later supported them well by managing part of a local grocery store called Harry's Market.

But those beautiful Wyoming mountains still tugged at Al's heart, and thirteen years later he moved his family back to Lander, Wyoming, where his fourth daughter Julia was born shortly after the move. Unbeknownst to him, his old friend Jim Guschewsky had been thinking of selling part of his car dealership and, after talking to Al, separated out the farm machinery and parts division and sold it to him.

From that humble start Al and Jan built A L Seamands Equipment (later to be called Seamands GMC and Toyota) as they  added those franchises . They doubled, tripled, and quadrupled their original business and sold it to Jim Guschewsky's son Chuck to become part of Fremont Motors after over 40 years of ownership. Al and Jan traveled a lot through those years, to Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Mexico, Hawaii, Canada and more, sometimes for work, and often for pleasure, with good friends or family. Those were happy years. Al earned his pilots license and bought first a Cessna and then an Aero Commander air plane. He and Jan traveled by their plane to different meetings and obligations as he became president of the Wyoming Auto Dealers Association, and the Wyoming Flying Farmers as well as an elected representative of the western area of the Toyota  advertising agency. He was also deeply involved with Farm Bureau, the Wyoming Cattlemen's Association, the Fremont County Sour Dough club and the Fremont County Search and Rescue Association, often using his airplane for deeper searches.

They built their first cabin in 2003, sold it, and then built their dream cabin in the Little Pine Creek area above Lander and they loved spending every available day they could at their home in the mountains. They purchased a second home too, in Scenic Arizona, and used it as the halfway point between Lander and Ventura, California for their frequent trips there.

The last ten years have been quieter as Al and Jan aged and slowed down. They sold their cabin and Scenic home and, as Al's health deteriorated, found contentment at home by entertaining friends, cozy dinners in front of the television, reading books side by side, and, recently, all made possible with the dedicated assistance of their beloved helper, Andrea Flores.

Al died at home as was his fervent wish, on July 15, with his beloved Jan by his side. He had said, many times over the years, that home was where he wanted to be and when his time came, he could die happily there. And, thanks to his wife's fierce determination, that is what he did.

Al is survived by his beloved wife Janet (Harrison) Seamands, daughters Katie Seamands, Mary Ann (Tony) Hoyt, Janet (Steve) Iverson and Julia (Jeff) Patrick.

Also surviving him are his grandchildren, Dana (Thomas) Kephart, Alesa Wittlief, Gina Strobel, Michael (Rebekah) Hoyt, Damien Teague, Lora (Edward) Tuholske, Joseph (Mikayla) Hoyt, Angela (Nick) Fossum, Scott (Alisha) Iverson, Jordan Jack, Jenna Patrick and Jade Patrick as well as 26 great grandchildren.

The Funeral Service will be 10:30 am, Tuesday, July 23, 2024 in the Chapel of Mount Hope, Hudson's Funeral Home, 680 Mount Hope Drive, Lander, Wyoming 82520.  Burial will then follow in the Mount Hope Cemetery. Followed by a reception at the Inn of Lander. In lieu of flowers, Al's family asks that you perhaps donate to a local charity of your choice in his name.

Please sign the on-line guestbook: hudsonsfh.com. Please sign the online guestbook at: hudsonsfh.com