County Legend Sam D. Seale Dies

Sam D. Seale, former Jackson County Judge and longtime executive director of the Texas Association of Counties, passed away Feb. 7, 2007, after a long struggle with cancer.
Born Sept. 27, 1933 in Floresville, Texas, Seale’s initial career goal was to join law enforcement, which he pursued in the police department in Kingsville and then with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington D. C.
After attending Texas A&I University in Kingsville, American College of Law in Washington and the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Seale brought his wife and children back to the family ranch in Jackson County, where he was elected county judge in 1971. He continued to operate the ranch, which has been in his family more than 100 years, until his death.
As county judge, he initially served as president of the South Texas Judges and Commissioners Association and then headed the statewide County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas. He was also president of the Texas Association of Regional Councils and served on the board of the National Association of Regional Councils of Government.
In 1986, Seale joined the staff of the Texas Association of Counties as head of its Intergovernmental Relations staff, and in 1987 he was hired as executive director of the organization. When Seale was recently honored on the 20th anniversary of his joining TAC, it was noted that the organization had grown from six employees to 130 staff members, without increasing the taxpayer dues paid by county governments. Throughout his tenure at TAC, Seale was widely known for his love of Texas county government and the vibrancy of its checks and balances nature.
During his time as executive director of TAC, Seale served as president of the National Conference of County Association Executives and the Conference of Southern County Associations and on the board of the National Association of Counties.
Seale also served as a member of the Texas County and District Retirement System Board of Trustees and was particularly proud of his four terms as president of the Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission, earning the Man of the Year honor in both 1979 and 1984. Similarly, he was named Man of the Year by the Texas County Agriculture Agents Association. Other appointments in Texas included service as a director of the Texas Supreme Court Judges Education Committee, the South Texas Health Systems Agency, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission Advisory Committee and the Texas Department of Community Affairs Advisory Committee.
Seale’s favorite pastimes were hunting in West Texas with his friends and nature photography.
Survivors include his wife, Sylvia Aldrete Seale; sons Sam D. Seale IV, Marc Thomas and Michael McCrery; daughters Carrie Hearne, Lea Ann Guyton, Terry Fazio, Jean Bordelon and Laura Hanson; 21 grandchildren; and one great grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Peggy Shults Seale.