Madeline Seidel Faner

Madeline Seidel Faner, 74, of Greer, wife to Richard M. Faner, died Friday, August 6, 2021.

Born in Evanston, IL, she was the daughter of the late Rudolph August and Viola Holste Seidel.

She grew up in Mt. Prospect, IL where she attended Saint Paul Lutheran School and then Prospect and Forest View High School. She took her dentist father’s advice and followed her brother to Valparaiso University (Indiana), subsequently transferred to Northwestern University where she completed her studies and certification in dental hygiene. Along the way, she loved playing the piano and organ. The following year, Maddie and Rick married, and they began their 52-year life journey together. She was able to combine an academic career, teaching at Northwestern, with private practice in several Chicagoland offices as she supported Rick in his completion of dental school. They were total partners throughout his 30-year Air Force career as they crossed the country with stops in Maryland, Virginia, California, Texas, and an overseas assignment in Oxfordshire, England.

She loved to travel, make friends, and connect with family. At the same time, she never complained about the disruptions to her professional career with each Air Force move and the necessary state board licensing examinations and job searches. She loved each of her jobs and her many, many appreciative patients who reflected the same back to her. Besides music and a life long pursuit of fitness and exercise, other great passions were crafts, sewing, quilting, and gardening. Many would say that some of her greatest achievements were in the kitchen; she loved learning and adding to her significant culinary skills. But undoubtedly, her greatest joy was the birth of her two children, the creation of a sustaining and loving home, and watching them grow up into strong and successful young women. After a 40-year career in hygiene, she and Rick joined family in Greer, SC when they retired in 2013 and have enjoyed the friends and community of Greystone Cottages. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church handbell choir and the Greenville Modern Quilt Guild. She also loved being outdoors and was an avid hiker while also appreciating the many learning opportunities provided by the OLLI chapter at Furman University.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her two daughters, Jennifer Robin Faner and Molly Erica Faner; sister-in-law, Sally Faner Bornmueller and brother-in-law, Alan O. Bornmueller; sister-in-law, Sally Elghammer; nephew, Erik J. Seidel and family; and niece, Julie D. Birello and family.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her son, Daniel Faner; and her brother, John W. Seidel.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, August 16, 2021, at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, 639 N. Main St., Greenville, SC 29601. The family will be receiving friends and family from 10:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. with the service beginning at 12:00 p.m. A future interment will be at the family plot in Dunn Valley Cemetery, McKean, PA.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the South Carolina Chapter of the ALS Association, www.scalsa.org,130 Gardeners Circle/PMB 622, Johns Island, SC 29455.

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