Martin T. Seliga, Jr.

Martin T Seliga (Marty) of Endicott, New York passed away (unexpectedly) on Sunday afternoon August 15.  He is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of over 57 years Kathleen (Dolan), his children Stephen, Maureen Moloney, Trish (Patrick) Moore, and Colleen (Brian) Salati, his grandchildren Kate, Shannon, Abby, Liam, Colton, Sammy, Braedyn, Aubrey, Lucy, and little Charlie girl, his brother Frank (Nancy), sister Kathy, sister-in-law Barb (Jim) Hill, along with many wonderful cousins, nieces, nephews and countless friends.  Marty will now be reunited with his parents Marty and Julia who predeceased him into heaven.  

Marty was born in Endicott and spent his whole life there.  A self-made man, who after he graduated from UE High School while a young husband and father, worked his way through Harpur College, going to school in the mornings and then driving to work the swing shift at IBM Owego’s powerhouse.  After graduating from SUNY Binghamton, he accepted a job at IBM as a procurement agent in Owego, becoming a member of the Quarter Century Club, transitioning to Lockhead Martin until he retired in 2002, working over 35 years at the Owego plant. With all that work, Marty still found a time for so many things.  He had grown up hunting and fishing, playing golf and basketball, and continued to do those activities throughout his life.  He was a lifetime parishioner at St. Joseph’s Church, where he coached the varsity basketball team and won one CYO championship, but more importantly to him, they were awarded the league sportsmanship trophy twice in three years.  Kathy and Marty ran the Pizza Frite concession at the church bazaar for years, and after retirement Marty volunteered countless hours to the bazaar.  Marty was a great neighbor to all, never hesitating to rototill a garden, cut someone’s grass, bring over vegetables from his garden, or trap some woodchuck or skunk that was causing problems.   And you can’t mention Marty without the running.  Marty ran every day after work for decades, and most of Endicott will always remember seeing him shuffling down Taft Ave, going at his own pace, to his own beat. 

The two things Marty loved most were his family and his sports.  Kathy and Marty spent 19 wonderful years of retirement together, in Florida for the winters, traveling around the country, visiting their children and grandchildren in Seattle, Poughkeepsie and Boston, and at home with Colleen and her three girls, where going to softball games were the best days of the week for sure.  He loved all sports, many a fall weekend going to a couple of high school football games, driving to Cornell to see his Big Red, and squeezing in 5 o’clock mass along the way.  He loved his Mets, the Cornell Big Red, and especially the Jets, whom he rooted for up until his last moments, going to see our Lord with his green Jets jersey on.

Calling hours will be held at St Joseph’s Church on Friday, August 20th beginning at 9:30am with a funeral to follow at 11 am.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to UE Youth Softball program payable to Union-Endicott Little League; PO Box 7324, Endicott, NY 13760.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Martin T. Seliga, Jr., please visit our floral store.