'Visionary' Bill Seabrook remembered for helping make Gaston County better

Bill Seabrook wanted to leave Gaston County a better place then he found it — and by all accounts, he succeeded.

Seabrook, 89, died Dec. 20 after a brief illness, and the impression he left on the Gaston County community was profound.

Seabrook was heavily involved in the community, and he excelled at recruiting others for his causes, his friends and family said. That moment was commonly referred to as getting "Seabrooked."

Dwayne Burks, who Seabrook recruited to help with the Downtown Faith Network, which later became The Gateway Gaston, described Seabrook as "relentless."

"He wanted to leave the world, and by the world, he really meant Gaston, … better than he found it, because it had been so good to him," Burks said. "Usually, he would come to someone and say, 'it would behoove you,' or, 'you might want to consider,' and the next thing you know, you were caught up in his web of efforts."

Carol Elliott, a close friend of more than 30 years, said that Seabrook was constantly looking for ways to make where he was better. He always carried a notebook with him, "and wrote down important things, or things he was thinking about at the time."

"He always wanted something to write on. If he didn't have a notebook, he wrote on a napkin or whatever might be around," she said.

Seabrook won multiple awards for his service, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which he received from Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017.

When he served as vice president of the Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce, he initiated the chamber's Business and Education Partnership. Seabrook also aided in the founding of Gaston Together: Communities of Excellence, along with its Clergy and Citizens Coalition, the Downtown Faith Network, and First Things First of Gastonia.

Seabrook served on the Gaston County Board of Education for 10 years, but even when he was not on the board, he was working to improve the school district, said Reeves McGlohon, a former superintendent.

McGlohon, who was superintendent from 2006 until his retirement in 2013, said that Seabrook often showed up in his office.

"Two things that I think describe Bill Seabrook — one is visionary, and the other is tenacity, and the combination of those two things made him a very effective member of our community. When Bill would walk into my office I soon learned that … whatever he was suggesting probably was right on target," McGlohon said. "Whether it was stronger programs for at-risk children, whether it was improved safety, he kept up with what was going on in our public schools even after he had been a member of the Board of Education. He believed that our schools were doing a good job, but he also pushed us on a regular basis to be better. He was a loving critic, I guess is the best way I can describe it."

Giving back was part of Seabrook's value system, said one of his daughters, Leslie Seabrook Cline.

"His inspiration he would tell me came from his mother. She was like all of 5 feet tall, and just a dynamo like dad, and very focused," she said. "He could remember as a young kid, maybe 8 or 10, going out and distributing milk to children, door to door, … that made a big impression on him."

Amy Long Schieren, Seabrook's youngest daughter, said that Seabrook inspired her to contribute to her community — and also to follow her dreams.

In her 20s, when Schieren decided to start her own business, she asked him to look at a spot where she wanted to teach art to children.

When they finished the tour, "He just looked me straight in the eye and said, 'do it,'" she said. "It was successful. I wasn't the richest person in the world, but it was a fun job. I got to work with kids. I always think about him telling me, 'Just do it.'"

Melanie Seabrook Manzi, another daughter, said that Seabrook was also known for his enduring love for Clemson University, where he received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering in 1955.

Seabrook was so dedicated to the university that he inspired Manzi to go. She graduated in 1981, and her own children graduated from Clemson in 2017 and 2021.

When Clemson won games, Melanie would call him, and they would celebrate.

"In Gastonia, he always had to fight the good fight with all his Wolfpack and Tar Heel friends. He would always wear his orange tie to church if we ever beat any of them," she said.

Manzi said that in reading the online tributes to her father, "it is just so reassuring to know that he treated everybody like he treated us. … That's just how he was. And he got sweeter and sweeter as the days were final. That sweet spirit never left him. He could be a bear when he needed something. … And when he wanted something, he knew how to get it from you, but he always did it with a smile on his face."

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Bill Seabrook dies at 89, remembered for work in Gaston County NC