Seena Marilyn Calder

Seena Marilyn Calder (Maurer), age 91, of Boynton Beach, Florida, and formerly New York and North Carolina, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2019. Seena will be remembered for her devotion to immediate family, and a long-reaching extended family network of friends. Her lifetime driving passion was theatre and the arts. Actually born on April 5, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, Seena always celebrated her birthday on April 6. Her mother didn’t want her to have a kosher for Passover birthday cake. Seena didn’t learn the truth until she applied for a passport. As a child, and through her years at James Madison High School, Seena was an actress on stage and radio. She was known for “Bugs,” a one-girl recitation. When she went to Syracuse, majoring in Speech Pathology, Seena helped start the student TV station, as well as perform on campus radio. It was at Syracuse, as a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, she met the lover-of-her-life and eventual husband of 63 years, Laurence (Larry) Calder. They married in 1949. Before starting their family, Seena worked as a producer’s assistant on “Days of Our Lives,” then only on radio. Seena would sometimes get her mother-in-law the advance scripts. Once her first two children were born, her professional and theatrical careers were put on hold. Seena became an elementary school Speech Therapist in the Wyandanch and Baldwin School Districts on Long Island. She also acquired a Master’s Degree from Adelphi University. When Larry and Seena retired to the Asheville, North Carolina area, they became patrons of the arts, involved with many theatrical, artistic, and historical museum pursuits. After moving back to Florida in 2001, Seena joined the Majestic Isles Little Theatre. She loved performing in their many productions, both large and small. Her network of theatrical friends became part of her extended family. Seena is survived by her sons, Jeffrey (wife, Lori Kenyon), of Madison, Wisconsin, Richard (Mona Cosse), of Blairsville, Georgia, daughter Randee (Mark Epstein), of Deerfield Beach, Florida; grandchildren Hannah and lan, and beloved sister-in-law, Phyllis Needleman. Seena is predeceased by her parents, Hilda and Gustav Maurer, husband Laurence (Larry), brother Robert, sister-in-law Beverly, and brother-in-law Jerry Needleman. A family visitation will be held at Seena’s home on Tuesday, August 27 from 7-9pm. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Seena’s favored The Paps Corps, who underwrite pancreatic cancer research in South Florida, at http://www.thepapcorps.org/