Gordon Seyffert has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Public Administration from the University of Missouri, but spent his whole career working for the University in administrative assignments relating to Graduate Studies, International Affairs, and Academic Affairs. He retired some fifteen years ago, and moved with his wife Marsha from Kansas City, Missouri to Altadena in 2011.
His retirement “career” is as a genealogist specializing in Germanic genealogy. He is the vice president, editor, de facto librarian, web manager and Wednesday staff person for the Immigrant Genealogical Society, of Burbank. Some years ago he taught himself to read the old German script in which so many genealogical documents are written, and it has been an invaluable skill to have. He currently takes an active role on the executive committee of the International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP), of which the IGS and its Pomeranian Special Interest Group are both members. Through his activities he now counts several new friendships in Germany as a side benefit of his interest.
His three adult children are Lindsay Seyffert (film editor), Gus Seyffert (musician) and Maggie McEldowney (arts administrator). Each of them preceded their parents to Los Angeles, the elder two having attended CalArts. Maggie trained to be a dancer in New York City, but has recently received a Master’s from USC in Social Entrepreneurship.
Gordon is also active in other organizations besides Rotary — he first became a Rotarian in 2011 — and his genealogical society. He regularly works weekends in the spring and fall on Christmas Tree Lane, which is just one house away from his. He can be found every Memorial Day helping to decorate some of the almost 700 graves of Union soldiers buried there, in his capacity as a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Also as a SUVCW representative, he can be found each May presenting recognition awards to top JROTC cadets at one or more high schools in the western San Gabriel Valley.