Julia S. Siegel

A memorial service for Julia Smith Siegel, 91, of Willoughby, formerly of Painesville, will be held 11:00, Saturday, January 14, 2023, at Saint James Episcopal Church, 131 North State Street, Painesville. The Rt. Rev. Abraham Allende, Interim Rector, will officiate, with a homily by the Very Rev. Vanessa E.B. Clark.

Julie was with her children when she passed away at her home at Grace Woods-Breckenridge Village in Willoughby on December 1, 2022.

Born September 23, 1931, in Cleveland, Julie, a sixth generation Lake Countian, grew up in Painesville. She was a graduate of Hathaway Brown School (1949), Smith College (1953), and Lake Erie College, where she received a Master’s in Education in 1984.

Julie cherished family and friendship throughout her life. She met her husband, David, at St. James Episcopal Church when they were children. They dated throughout high school and college, and were married in 1953. Their 62-year marriage was filled with the enjoyment of travel, music, theater, and, of course, family. Julie and her sister, Laurie, actively preserved records of their family line through documentary accounts, the preservation of family heirlooms, genealogical research in Groton, CT, and the replacement of her great-great-great grandparent’s gravestone in Kirtland Hills.

Julie was a lifelong educator. She taught students from pre-K through college classes at Lake Erie College. She was a founding faculty member of Phillips School (now part of Andrews-Osborne). She also privately tutored, helping students overcome learning challenges to meet their full potential, and helped middle-aged adults learn to read.

She shared her love of history by leading student trips to historic Williamsburg, where she and David spent part of their honeymoon. Julie also took her Phillips School classes to her family’s Grand River property – a tract of land which she eventually gifted to Lake MetroParks for wilderness preservation. While picnicking and catching tadpoles and crayfish, she instructed her students to walk carefully on the wooded paths and clean up the debris along the banks. The lesson was to leave a place better than you find it.

It was in this spirit of universal improvement that Julie served her community. Upon returning to Painesville with David after some years in New Jersey, Julie recognized a need to engage local women in community service. In 1962, she co-founded the Western Reserve Junior Service League and served as its first President. Julie recently attended the 60th anniversary of WRJSL, celebrating its ongoing volunteer and grant support of many Lake and Geauga County organizations.

She also served as a Trustee for the Western Reserve Fine Arts Association, Lake County Historical Society, Phillips-Osborne School, and Lake Erie College. She chaired capital campaigns for the revitalization of the Lake Erie College Fine Arts Center and the restoration of the Skinner organs at both Lake Erie College and St. James Church.

Julie also took on more discreet roles as a 40-year member of the St. James Church altar guild, provided the friendly voice of the talking Christmas Tree at Carlisle’s Department Store, and remained active with book and social clubs. She cherished the monthly lunch meetings of “Monday Club”, which her great-grandmother founded, and found joy in driving social activities at Grace Woods. She always loved a party.

She profoundly touched the lives of many individuals. In the weeks prior to her death, she and her family received expressions of gratitude for the way in which she deeply impacted people with her care.

She is survived by her children, Libby (Tom) Hill of Shaker Heights, Kate (Ken) Olena of Buffalo, NY, and John (Gail) Siegel of Houston, TX; grandchildren, Jim (Sarah) Hill, Will (Jess) Olena, Rob Hill, and Charlotte Olena; great-grandchildren, David and Ella Hill, and Oliver Olena. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Siegel, her parents, Norris and Ruth Smith, and by her sister, Laurie Smith.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorial donations to the following organizations Julie supported:

* St. James Episcopal Church Foundation, 131 North State Street, Painesville, OH 44077

* Ohio Living Home Health & Hospice c/o Ohio Living Foundation, 1001 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, OH 43229

* Western Reserve Junior Service League Heritage Endowment Fund c/o Cleveland Foundation, PO Box 77051, Cleveland OH 44184-0015.