Walkershire - Person Sheet
Walkershire - Person Sheet
NameJanet Bright 
Birth Date14 Sep 1927
Birth PlaceMcPherson, KS
Spouses
Birth Dateabt 1926
Birth PlaceRhode Island
Reside Date1930
Reside PlaceTopeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA
MemoMarital Status: Single; Relation to Head: Son
Reside Date1935
Reside PlaceTopeka, Shawnee, Kansas
Reside Date1940
Reside PlaceTopeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA
MemoMarital Status: Single; Relation to Head: Son
Reside Date1930
Reside PlaceTopeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA
MemoMarital Status: SingleRelation to Head: Son
Reside Date1940
Reside PlaceTopeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA
MemoMarital Status: SingleRelation to Head: Son
FatherArthur Godfrey Sellen (1893-1963)
MotherGrace Edna Walker (1897-1986)
Notes for Janet Bright
Jane is survived by her husband Al, and four children and their spouses:
Jan Sellen McGrane (Michael), Durham, NC;
Peg Sellen Dana (Rolland Guild), Coralville, Iowa;
John Sellen (Mary Sue Lobenstein), Minneapolis, MN;
Eric Sellen (Ron Seidman), Phoenix, AZ.
Other survivors include: two grandsons,
Paul McGrane, Austin, TX, and Brian McGrane, Seattle, WA; brother-in-law
William Sellen and wife Elsie in Fort Scott, KS; and sister-in-law
Donna Sellen, Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Merritt.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts in Jane's name to
Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence, KS, or to Iowa Public Radio.
Published by the Des Moines Register on Jun. 14, 2015.
Jan Sellen McGrane (Michael), Durham, NC;
Peg Sellen Dana (Rolland Guild), Coralville, Iowa;
John Sellen (Mary Sue Lobenstein), Minneapolis, MN;
Eric Sellen (Ron Seidman), Phoenix, AZ.
Other survivors include: two grandsons,
Paul McGrane, Austin, TX, and Brian McGrane, Seattle, WA; brother-in-law
William Sellen and wife Elsie in Fort Scott, KS; and sister-in-law
Donna Sellen, Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Merritt.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts in Jane's name to
Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence, KS, or to Iowa Public Radio.
Published by the Des Moines Register on Jun. 14, 2015.
History notes for Janet Bright
Iowa City
Jane Bright Sellen (87), formerly of Lawrence, Kansas, and Sioux City, Iowa,
died on June 11, 2015, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Palliative
Care Unit in Iowa City. A family memorial service will be held at a later date.
The body was donated to The University of Iowa College of Medicine.
Jane was born September 14, 1927, in McPherson, Kansas, daughter of John Daniel
Bright and Grace Hollenberg Bright. She was named Martha Jane. After her mother
died young, Jane was raised by her second mother, Edith McGaffey Bright. She
attended elementary school in McPherson, and moved with her family to Topeka in
1939 where she graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 with First Honors. She
graduated from Washburn University magna cum laude in 1949 and received an M.A.
degree from the University of South Dakota in 1975.
She was an educator, primarily in Sioux City, Iowa, where for 25 years she was
Supervisor of Adult Basic Education at Western Iowa Tech Community College for
six counties. In that capacity, she was active in a number of adult education
organizations and received recognition in Iowa, regionally, and nationally. For
many years, she helped immigrants prepare to become U.S. citizens, teaching
classes and authoring a textbook for citizenship published in 1977 by Simon &
Schuster. In 1989 she was named a Woman of Excellence in Sioux City.
Jane married Albert R. Sellen on June 14, 1947. Together, they raised four
children and traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states and journeying to
Europe 12 times. Jane and Al retired to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1990. In Lawrence
she was active as a member of Plymouth Congregational Church and on the Board of
Friends of Women's Studies at KU. She was also active in Lawrence Habitat for
Humanity, Westerners International, LINK, the Endacott Society of KU retirees,
Kappa Alpha Theta, and PEO Sisterhood. Jane and Al moved to Iowa City in 2014,
where they have lived at Legacy Pointe Assisted Living.
Jane is survived by her husband Al, and four children and their spouses: Jan
Sellen McGrane (Michael), Durham, NC; Peg Sellen Dana (Rolland Guild),
Coralville, Iowa; John Sellen (Mary Sue Lobenstein), Minneapolis, MN; Eric
Sellen (Ron Seidman), Phoenix, AZ. Other survivors include: two grandsons, Paul
McGrane, Austin, TX, and Brian McGrane, Seattle, WA; brother-in-law William
Sellen and wife Elsie in Fort Scott, KS; and sister-in-law Donna Sellen,
Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Merritt.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts in Jane's name to
Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence, KS, or to Iowa Public Radio.
Published by the Des Moines Register on Jun. 14, 2015.
Jane Bright Sellen (87), formerly of Lawrence, Kansas, and Sioux City, Iowa,
died on June 11, 2015, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Palliative
Care Unit in Iowa City. A family memorial service will be held at a later date.
The body was donated to The University of Iowa College of Medicine.
Jane was born September 14, 1927, in McPherson, Kansas, daughter of John Daniel
Bright and Grace Hollenberg Bright. She was named Martha Jane. After her mother
died young, Jane was raised by her second mother, Edith McGaffey Bright. She
attended elementary school in McPherson, and moved with her family to Topeka in
1939 where she graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 with First Honors. She
graduated from Washburn University magna cum laude in 1949 and received an M.A.
degree from the University of South Dakota in 1975.
She was an educator, primarily in Sioux City, Iowa, where for 25 years she was
Supervisor of Adult Basic Education at Western Iowa Tech Community College for
six counties. In that capacity, she was active in a number of adult education
organizations and received recognition in Iowa, regionally, and nationally. For
many years, she helped immigrants prepare to become U.S. citizens, teaching
classes and authoring a textbook for citizenship published in 1977 by Simon &
Schuster. In 1989 she was named a Woman of Excellence in Sioux City.
Jane married Albert R. Sellen on June 14, 1947. Together, they raised four
children and traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states and journeying to
Europe 12 times. Jane and Al retired to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1990. In Lawrence
she was active as a member of Plymouth Congregational Church and on the Board of
Friends of Women's Studies at KU. She was also active in Lawrence Habitat for
Humanity, Westerners International, LINK, the Endacott Society of KU retirees,
Kappa Alpha Theta, and PEO Sisterhood. Jane and Al moved to Iowa City in 2014,
where they have lived at Legacy Pointe Assisted Living.
Jane is survived by her husband Al, and four children and their spouses: Jan
Sellen McGrane (Michael), Durham, NC; Peg Sellen Dana (Rolland Guild),
Coralville, Iowa; John Sellen (Mary Sue Lobenstein), Minneapolis, MN; Eric
Sellen (Ron Seidman), Phoenix, AZ. Other survivors include: two grandsons, Paul
McGrane, Austin, TX, and Brian McGrane, Seattle, WA; brother-in-law William
Sellen and wife Elsie in Fort Scott, KS; and sister-in-law Donna Sellen,
Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Merritt.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts in Jane's name to
Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence, KS, or to Iowa Public Radio.
Published by the Des Moines Register on Jun. 14, 2015.
