Storke Funeral Home Obituaries

Seale Wilder Tuttle, a longtime resident of Tolland, Connecticut, and more recently of Dumfries, Virginia, died at his home on Saturday, December 23, 2023, from cardiac amyloidosis. He was 81 years old.

Mr. Tuttle was born September 15, 1942 in Rochester, New York, to Eveline B. Sysum (d. 1995) and Lester E. “Les” Tuttle (d. 1974). After graduating from Rochester’s Monroe High School in 1961, he attended Cornell University, where he graduated in 1965 with a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations, and immediately commissioned into the Army as a Field Artillery officer.

Following artillery basic officer training and Airborne School, he was stationed abroad at Bismarck Kaserne, Schwäbisch Gmünd, West Germany, where he served as a special weapons officer for the M110 howitzers of the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Armored Division. In late 1967, he deployed to the Republic of Vietnam where he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade and attached as the artillery liaison officer to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, based at “LZ Baldy” near Chu Lai, where he saw action throughout the Tet Offensive of January 1968. Upon his final separation from the Army in September 1969, his honors included the Aircraft Crewman Badge, Parachute Badge, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal (5 Awards), Purple Heart, and Bronze Star Medal.

Returning to Upstate New York, he joined the Cayuga Heights Police Department as a patrol officer under Chief Harlin McEwen, and at the same time began studying at Cornell Law School. In 1972, after graduating from Cornell Law, he moved into the courtroom as the Assistant District Attorney of Tompkins County, and in 1974 joined the New York State Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) as an Assistant Attorney General.

His activity on the OCTF sparked an interest in the litigation of arson-related insurance fraud, and in 1976 he joined the firm of Bouck, Holloway, Kiernan & Casey in Albany, where he was named a partner in 1985.

On January 3, 1981, Seale married MaryAnn Grace Delaney, daughter of Thomas Delaney and Mary Tozer, in Altamont, New York. They moved to East Greenbush, New York and had two sons: James Wilder (b. 1984), and David Tozer (b. 1987).

In 1987, the family relocated to Tolland, Connecticut, to allow Seale to join the specialized-risk company Industrial Risk Insurers (IRI) of Hartford. He remained there, eventually becoming IRI’s Vice President and General Counsel, for the remainder of his professional career.

Outside of work in Connecticut, Seale was a longtime volunteer at the Tolland Fire Department. After joining the department in 1988, he responded to hundreds of calls and held roles including Firefighter, EMT, Fire Police, and Chairman of the corporation; he was honored for 20 years of service in 2018. He was also an Amateur Radio operator (KB1JMW), model warship builder, pistol instructor, car enthusiast, animal lover, surprisingly good photographer, dangerous Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit player, and steam train fan.

He is predeceased by his parents Eveline (d. 1995) and Lester (d. 1974), brother Dean (d. 2007), cousin “Alec” Barton (d. 1994), lifelong friend Ronald Wright (d. 2021), and many others, including innumerable animal companions.

He is survived by his wife MaryAnn; sons James and David; daughter-in-law Janele; and granddaughter Eveline. He is also survived by his brother- and sister-in-law, Thomas and NancyJo Delaney of Rockport, MA; his sister-in-law, Diane Delaney Gallagher of Atlanta, GA; sister- and brother-in-law Ruth-Ann (Delaney) and Edward Minor of Lake George, NY, as well as many nieces and nephews and their families.

A memorial service will be held at the Arts Center of Tolland, Tolland, CT., on March 2, 2024, and burial will be with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made to the Tolland Fire Department (https://www.tollandfire.org/).