Elisabeth “Liz” Seley-Wold , 76, of New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2023 at Greenwich Hospital.
She was born October 14, 1946 in New York City. Liz will be dearly missed by her immediate family: husband David C. Wold, brother John, sister Carolyn, sister-in-law Liz, and her dogs and the many people she kept in contact with across the nation and overseas.
Liz traveled a lot with her family in her youth and quickly recognized her appreciation of native Americans and the west This was something she would value throughout the rest of her life. She never got tired of telling how she met one of the code talkers from WWII. During her travels she also met a number of celebrities, including the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and Elvis. She spent a lot of time with the Crow Indians in Montana and shared their support of the St. Labre Indian School. She became close to the Witt family on the IOU ranch near Jordan, Montana and treated them all as part of her extended family.
The rest of her first forty years covered a range of jobs, including camp counselor, zoo keeper, and summer theater staff. The last job led to over 25 years as a wardrobe supervisor on Broadway and in movies. In 1986, one of the movie productions brought her to Norway where she met and married David.
She changed her career to photography and painting while also serving as a secretary at the British Embassy for the Anglican Church and a flower store salesperson. Her great joy and pride came as the Captain of a the ferry boat at the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park.
After returning to the USA with David and their dog Montana in 1992, they settled down in Greenwich where she resumed her career as wardrobe supervisor on Broadway and movies in the New York area.
Soon her life changed due to odd working hours and the inability to participate more in directly helping others. This led to work at Borden bookstore “Inspiration,” a religious store and also at Greenwich Library. This also included becoming a Guardian ad Litem.
Her interests expanded once more to becoming an interfaith minister with a focus on victims of 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghan war. This work included counseling individuals as well as collecting and sending care packages that included essential needs. She frequently included prayer crosses and pillow cases that she created and that could be found under the heads of hundred of soldiers. Her ministry brought her in contact with many military families across the country. A passion for making quilts came out of her experience and she spent years making them and sending them to individuals and families in need.
Her energy for others was endless despite her slowly increasing pain making mobility more and more difficult. The cause was only recently discovered to be caused by widespread cancer which led to her passing.
She expressed no wish for a church service as such, but we know she will appreciate a gathering in the future at which we celebrate her life.
If you want to support one of Liz’s passions, please donate to the St. Labre Indian School on the Crow reservation: https://www.stlabre.org/blanketgift/