Seyfried Jewelers Partner Dies

Seyfried Jewelers partner dies

By WILLIAM B. TREML

NEWS STAFF REPORTER 

Calvin Coolidge was president of the United States when 12-year-old Calvin A. Seyfried began working for his jeweler father, Fred Seyfried. Then, Seyfried Jewelers was in the 100 block of East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor and the -boy’s part-time job covered nearLy every task others were too busy to do.

But, by watching and listening to the skilled jewelers at work, Calvin Seyfried learned the trade and took over the business, now at 304 S. Main.

He was 77 when he died at the family home on Saturday.

“He did everything in the store - making jewelry, repairing watches and clocks, everything,” recalls his widow, Eleanor, who married him in 1940. “A diamond ring he wore for many years he made. He became quite skilled.”

His skill as a jeweler was put to use during World War II when he entered the old U.S. Army Air Corps and was sent to a B-24 base near Burtonwood, England. He was placed in a unit repairing bomb-sights and gyrocompasses for the warplanes.

Born in Ann Arbor in 1915, he graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1933. Three years earlier, he and his brothers, Ralph and Frederick, formed a partnership to continue the family jewelry business. He also served as president of the Downtown Property Owners Association, and was founder and president of the Arthur C. Elliot Co. and the Bycor Corp.

For 24 years, he was a member of the Michigan Retail Jewelers and served as president of the organization in 1952-53.

He was a member of numerous Ann Arbor organizations including the Elks Lodge 352, the Ann Arbor Club and the Inverness and Barton Hills country clubs. He attended Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor throughout his life.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters, Sharon Fairbanks of Mission Viejo, Calif., and Dindy Haab of Ann Arbor; his brother Frederick, of Bradenton, Fla.; and three grandchildren.

Funeral services are planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Muehlig Chapel, with the Rev. Judith Jahnke officiating. Burial will take place at Washtenong Memorial Park.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today. Memorial contributions may be made to Individualized Home Nursing Care, in care of Society Bank, 100 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104, or to the Catherine McAuley Cancer Center or Catherine McAuley Elder Care.