Louise Gerry (Hall) Seagrave, 97, of Gibson Road Bristol died peacefully on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, at Sakonnet Bay Manor with her daughter by her side.  She was  the wife of the late A. Gordon Seagrave, to whom she had been married for 56 years and who died on Jan. 27, 2000.

Born in Fall River, Mass., a daughter of the late Samuel A. Hall and Maud B. (Plummer) Hall, she graduated from BMC Durfee  High School in 1937 and F.G. Allen Business School. She was employed by Fall River National Bank and RI Hospital Trust in Bristol for several years. As a young mother, she operated a sheet music business from her home.

Mrs. Seagrave was a pianist and accompanist whose beginnings in her teens included vaudeville performances with her Sweden-born father, a professional percussionist and music store owner in Fall River. At that time the youngest member of the musicians union, she accompanied local productions, and throughout her career was known for her ability to reproduce and transpose what she heard without music.

A choral accompanist in the East Bay and interim organist in Portsmouth, Little Compton and Fall River, Mrs. Seagrave was for many years the organist at the First Congregational Church in Bristol, where she had been a member for over 60 years and was also an accompanist for the Bristol Interfaith Choir. She served as assistant treasurer of her church.

Most importantly, music filled her home which distinctly shaped her family's life. Her husband, known to admit having a tin ear and two left feet, was her loving and devoted page turner and A/V support.

Moving to Bristol in 1953, Mrs. Seagrave and her husband raised their two children in Bristol Highlands, a neighborhood of families each with one car and party lines, no-leash laws, evening sounds of peepers and cicadas and a place to swim at the end of the road. They enjoyed Maine vacations with relatives and one week each year at Pinewood Camp with friends.

Having crossed the country in 1933, she was happy to be able to travel again with her husband to Scandinavia, the British Isles, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands. Briggs Beach in Little Compton, a place to which she was introduced in the 1930s, later became a family tradition. But the trips she enjoyed the most were the ones they took to Alaska to be with their son’s family in Sitka, Kodiak and Juneau and being able to see parts of Alaska on their son's tugboat.

For many years, Mrs. Seagrave and her husband volunteered at Blithewold Gardens and Arboretum in Bristol, which gave them great purpose and a second home in their later years. A member of the Bristol Historical Society, the Audubon Society and contributor to several nature and wildlife organizations, she loved gardening at home with her husband and spending time with her beloved assortment of pets. An avid reader and crossword puzzle whiz, she amused her family with subtle humor, wit and the ability to connect life's events, large or small, with song titles.

After her husband died, her years at Sakonnet Bay Manor were brightened by special friends and staff. Determined to remain independent, she received exceptional support from loving caregivers at Gentiva/Kindred Hospice of Rhode Island beginning in 2015.

In addition to her husband, mother and father, she was pre-deceased by her son, Richard Gordon Seagrave, in July, 2011, her brother Roger Plummer Hall of Granville, N.Y., and her sister, Constance Wilbur Fielden of Sunnyvale, Calif.
She is survived and deeply missed by her daughter, Virginia, of Bristol, her former daughter-in-law, Rebecaa Nunn, of Dallas, OR, her grandchildren, Jonathan (Amelia), Christopher (Tammy) and Sarah (Michael), and her great-grandchildren, Taylor, Mason, Miriam, Arthur and Cassidy. She is also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, all of whom made her life that much more meaningful.

A service of remembrance will be held at the First Congregational Church, 300 High St., Bristol, R.I., on Friday, July 14, at 1 p.m. Burial is private. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church of Bristol, 281 High St., Blithewold Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Road in Bristol or Kindred Hospice 2374 Post Rd., Warwick, RI 02886. Arrangements by George Lima Funeral Home. (www.limafh.com).