Cecelia Loretta “Seeley” Brooke, 93, a resident of Hoquiam and former custodian for the State of Alaska school system, passed away on August 23, 2020, at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington.

Cecelia was born on Dec. 21, 1926, in Backus, Minnesota, to William August and Elizabeth (Spindler) Harder. Her mother passed when she was 18 months old. Two years later they moved to Wheellock, North Dakota, and then to Ocosta, Washington, two years later.

She worked in the canneries in Hoquiam and when the war started, she went to work at Boeing’s Aberdeen plant as a rivet block holder. She also worked for Ed Sherwood shucking oysters.

In 1958, she moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, with her sister Mary and her husband Morris Jones and found a job as a fry cook at the University of Alaska. It was during this time that Seeley met Harold Franklin Brooke. They were married in Oct. 1967, in Fairbanks. She then went to work at a little school in Anderson, Alaska, for a while. They moved to New Hampshire, where they lived until his passing on Nov. 7, 1992.

Seeley remained in New Hampshire until 1996 when she moved to Hoquiam.

Cecelia enjoyed crocheting, fishing, digging clams and family visits to play cards.

Cecelia is survived by numerous nieces and nephews some of who cared for her till her passing. She was preceded in death by her brothers: Francis, Tony, Felix ‘Bud’ and LeRoy Harder and her sisters: Leona Poukkula, Christine Minnick, Louise Graham and Mary Jones.

Per her request, there will be no services.

Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, WA.