Sunday, March 8, 2015

Preston B. Seastrunk

© Kathy Duncan, 2015

Preston B. Seatrunk, was the son of Samuel and Susan (Thurman) Seastrunk.

Death Certificate:
Preston B. Seastrunk, widowed
b. 15 Apr 1877 in Dallas, Dallas Co., TX
d. 18 Feb 1962
bur 21 Feb 1962 in Grove Hill Cem, Dallas, TX
father: Samuel Seatrunk
mother: Susan Thurman
informant: Mrs. Mary Lynn Keese

Obituary of  Nell Seastrunk, wife of Preston B. Seastrunk:

SEASTRUNK
Mrs. Nell, 1611 South Tyler, passed away Monday. Survived by her husband, Preston Seastrunk, Dallas; sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, St. Louis, Mo.; Mrs. Faye Malcomb, California; Mrs. Lucy Crane, California; brother, Roy Carter, Dallas; two grandchildren; five great-grandchildren. Services 10 a.m. Wednesday, Lamar & Smith Chapel, Dr. Jasper Manton. Interment Chapel Hill. Pallbearers: Charles Stahl, Chester Ashley, Glenn Lancaster, Howard H. Smith, Gay Anderson, L.C. Cox.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Wed. 21 Nov 1956]

Death of Preston B. Seastrunk:

Fire Deaths Rise to Nine
Dallas' 1962 fire-death toll rose to nine Monday with the deaths Sunday of two elderly men burned in separate accidents earlier.
...and Preston B. Seastrunk, 84, burned Saturday when his sick-bed mattress caught fire in his home at 1611 S. Tyler.
...Seastrunk, an invalid with a broken hip was burned from his waist up when his bed caught fire. His male nurse called Campbell Ambulance which sped him to Methodist Hospital.
Fire Capt. A.E. Dandridge listed the cause of the fire as careless smoking.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Tues. 20 Feb 1962]

SEASTRUNK
Preston 1611 S. Tyler. Survived by sister, Mrs. Leota Jack, Dallas; two granddaughters, Miss Mary Lynn Keese, Dallas, Mrs. Linda Bishop, Little Rock; eight great-grandchildren. Services 10 a.m. Wednesday. Lamar & Smith Chapel. Interment Grove Hill. Pallbearers: Richard Morrion, Gay Anderson, J.L. Groodt, Buddy Mayes, L.C. Cox.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Wed. 21 Feb 1962]

Obituaries of the children of Preston B. Seastrunk:

SEASTRUNK--Preston Leroy, the 17 months old son of Mr. and Mrs. Preston B. Seastrunk, died at 12:20 yesterday. Funeral today at 10:30 rom the family residences, 1026 Elm street.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Wed. 7 Aug 1901]

MRS. FRANCIS CORDY
Mrs. Francis Cordy, 26, better known in Dallas as Dorothy Seastrunk and to motion picture audiences as Dorothy Seastrom, died at 8:30 a.m. Friday at th the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Preston B. Seastrunk, 1038 Ford street, Oak Cliff.
Miss Seastrom was a victim of the influenza epidemic in Dallas in 1919, her constitution having been impaired since that time. In 1920, however, she had recovered sufficiently to move to Los Angeles, where she became a member of the Theodore Kosloff ballet. Picture engagements followed giving her leads in Lloyd Hamilton comedies and later featured assignments with the Colleen Moore unit. Ill health forced her to retire in the summer of 1928 and she returned to Dallas to rest with her parents. She was married to Francis Cordy, screen director in 1923.
Miss Seastrom came into the public eye when she was 15 years old and a freshman at Forest Avenue High School. Her remarkable beauty, dancing and histrionic talents made her a familiar figure in many local amateur entertainments. She played the role of Ruth in Eugene O'Neil's "Beyond the Horizon" when the Dallas Little Theater first presented this modern masterpiece in 1929. Her performance is still regarded as one of the finest ever accomplished within the organization.
She is survived by her parents and one brother, Lynn Seastrunk.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Sat. 1 Feb 1930]

Films' Dot Seastrom Buried in Home Town
The funeral of Mrs. Francis Cordy, 26, known in films as Dorothy Seastrom and formerly, Miss Dorothy Seastrunk, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Preston B. Seastrunk, 1038 Ford street, Oak Cliff, was held Saturday afternoon at the chapel of Ed C. Smith & Bro. Mortuary. Burial was in Grove Hill Cemetery.
Miss Seastrom was well-known in theatricals. She was a member of Theodore Kosloff's ballet at Los Angeles in 1920, later appeared in Lloyd Hamilton comedies and in Colleen Moore features for the screen. Before, however, she appeared in several Dallas Little Theater productions.
Active pallbearers were John Fleming, R.M. Perry, Arthur Bacon, M.J. Rosenfield, Stanley Marcus and Dr. W.C. Hixson.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Sun. 2 Feb 1930]

Notes on the Passing Show
Not so Strange
A current issue of a curent motion picture magazine comment as follows: "The fates of filmdom sometimes play strange tricks...
"Six years ago when 'The Dressmake From Paris,' starring Leatrice Joy, was shown upon the screens of the country, movie fans and critics alike predicted a great future for Dorothy Seastrom, who appeared in a small part.
"Last March Dorothy died...no press notices in the papers that once heralded her...just a funeral notice in a small paper in Dallas, Texas, where she died.
"Hollywood didn't even know Dorothy had passed away.
"The Paramount picture won Dorothy a contract with First National.
"Her whole life centered around the one ambition--to be a star. She worked day and night.
"And when she found herself in a very weakened condition and was forced to ask studio executives for a leave of absence. The leave was granted. On a doctor's examination, it was found that Dorothy had weak lungs.
"Several months in the Pottenger Sanitarium seemed to improve her health. Then back to the studio--but all in vain. She broke down again."
The motion picture magazine's columnist evidently doesn't read the right newspapers. The untimely death at 25 years of Miss Seastrom, or rather Dorothy Seastrunk, was regretted to considerable length. And the late Miss Seastrunk was not known in Dallas as merely a home-town girl who had made good in pictures. She was popular socially and, in her girlhood, was quite in the public eye as a classical dancer. She took the dramatically difficult part of Ruth Andrews in the Dallas Little Theater's first production of O'Neill's "Beyond the Horizon." She gave a performance that has not yet been forgotten. During her long illness she was visited by as many of her friends as health would permit. When the Little Theater revived "Beyond the Horizon," the organization sent the invalid a basket of flowers and expressed the sentiment that she would soon be well.
We mention this in refutation of the charge that Dallas ignored a talented daughter when she was stricken with a fatal illness.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Fri 17 Oct 1930]

Lynn Seastrunk Native of Dallas Dies at Hospital
Lynn V. Seastrunk, 39, of 4436 Potomac, Dallas insurance man, died Wednesday at local hospital after a brief illness.
A native of Dallas, he was graduated from Forest Avenue High School and attended Southern Methodist University. For several years he had been auditor for J. E. Earnest & Company insurance.
Surviving are his wife, two daughters, Mrs. Mary Lynn Keese and Miss Linda Seastrunk, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Preston Seastrunk, all of Dallas
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Thurs. 9 Mar 1944]

SEASTRUNK--Lynn V., age 39, died in local hospital Wednesday. Survived by hiw wife, two daughters, Mrs. Mary Lynn Keese, Miss Linda Seatrunk; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Preston Seastrunk, all of Dallas. Services Friday 10:30 a.m., George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel, 3603 Ross-ave., Rev. Father P. J. O'Grady officiating. Interment Calvary Hill Cemetery. Pallbearers: Pat Murphy, M.J. Flahive. W.P. Bondies, E.T. Earnest, Joe Earnest, Jr., R.B. Stichter Jr.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Fri. 10 Mar 1944]

Wife of Lynn V. Seastrunk:

Native of Dallas Passes Following Week's Illness
Mrs. Agnes Marie Seastrunk, 35, a native of Dallas, died Sunday after a week's illness.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Reilly, Mrs. Seastrunk was graduated from St. Edward's Academy and attended Southern Methodist University. She  was a member of St. Edward's Church.
She is survived by her parents, two daughters, Mrs. Phillip Keese, Amarillo, and Linda Seastrunk; two sisters, Mrs. Sam J. Adams and Mrs. Harry M. Roberts; two brothers, William J. Reilly and Thomas P. Reilly.
The Rosary will be recited Monday at 8 p.m. at the George A. Brewer Funeral Chapel. 3603 Ross. and services will be conducted by the Rev. P. J. O'Grady at St. Edward's Church Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
Burial will be in Calvary Hill Cemetery. Pallbearers are Harvey Reden, Edgar Smith Jr., Alexander Hickey, R.B. Stichter Jr., Sam J. Adams and Harry M. Roberts.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Mon. 27 Nov 1944]


No comments:

Post a Comment

I will always try to respond to your comments. If you are anonymous and cannot be reached by email and if you do not choose to follow responses to your comments, then please check back here for a response.