SANDIFER, JOHN SEAY
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Published: July 18, 2007
SANDIFER–John Seay, September 28, 1919 to June 29, 2007. Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, he graduated from Rice University and enlisted in the Navy in 1942, as a Navel Intelligence Officer, where he saw action in both the Pacific and Atlantic campaigns. He was on the USS Franklin aircraft carrier, famous for being the hardest hit ship to survive World War II. His parents, now deceased, were John and Margaret Hamilton Sandifer of Ft. Worth. After the War, John married his fiance, Lucie Dourif, a French woman, with whom he raised five children in Greenwich, CT, and celebrated 61 years of marriage. He also attended Yale University and Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, receiving a degree in Architecture. For many years, he was associated with the design firm Carson Lundine & Shaw that prepared plans for many skyscrapers in New York City. He also received national recognition in 1950 for the design of his Greenwich home. His professional skills were utilized on behalf of his many friends and later in life, he devoted his time to renovating their ancient home in southwest France, called La Tourbeille. He is survived by his wife, Lucie Sandifer, now living in Paris, and his five children Henri Philippe of Guilford, CT; Michael of Greenwich, CT; Claire Tuttle of Paris; John of Paris; and Nicole Burnett of Durham, CT, as well as his sister, Laura McGown of Ft. Worth, TX. 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild also survive him. Funeral services were handled by Pere Lachaise in Paris and a small family religious service was held at the Eglise Reformee du Port Royale in Paris on Friday, July 6. He will be interred on the families French property at a later date.

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