Stanley V. Seiffert

Stanley V. Seiffert, age 82, of Bellingham passed away Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. He was born Nov. 30, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan to parents Armin and Flora (Bestor) Seiffert.  Growing up, Stan enjoyed canoeing, camping, fishing and skiing with his parents and his brother Kurt and these trips were some of his favorite childhood memories.

Education was always important to Stan and by the time he went to high school in Rochester he knew he wanted to become an electronics engineer. One of his high school highlights was becoming one of three seniors in the state of Michigan to win honorable mention in the National Westinghouse Science Talent Search competition.

He attended the University of Michigan to study physics and engineering, graduating in 1956. He returned in 1958 to complete a Master’s Degree in engineering. In between, he took time to pursue one of his greatest loves: skiing. He worked at the ski resort in Alta, Utah so he could spend more time on the mountain. He left Utah to serve as an officer in the U.S. Air Force as a Radar Maintenance Technician. He was stationed in Germany, where he skied as a member of the U.S. Air Force ski team.

In 1959, Stan moved to Denver and worked for Honeywell as an electronics engineer, and this is where his interest in medical electronics began. In 1962, he moved to Copenhagen, Denmark to work as a medical electronics design engineer for Disa where he helped develop the six channel myograph. This is where he met and married Inger (Pedersen) Seiffert on December 28, 1963.

Stan and Inger moved to Seattle in 1964 to be close to the mountains and the ocean, places they both enjoyed. At a time when Boeing had just laid off 6,000 engineers, Stan got a job five days later as an engineer with Rocket Research. This accomplishment is a testimony to his ability to convince others of his intelligence and expertise, a quality he demonstrated time and time again during his lifetime.

Stan and Inger raised two children together on a farm in Snohomish. Michael was born in 1964 and Kirsten in 1967. Michael is currently an astrophysicist with Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada, Ca. and Kirsten works as a freelance food and travel writer in Orlando. As a family they enjoyed sailing in the San Juan Islands, camping at Mt. Rainier, skiing and taking trips to Europe. He also enjoyed operating his Ham radio, connecting with people all across the world.

Stan held numerous professional positions over the years in the Seattle area, but one of the highlights was his time at Physio-Control from the late 60s to mid-80s where he was instrumental in developing the Lifepak/33 portable defibrillator.  He travelled all over the world for Physio, and now these life-saving devices are found everywhere from Mt. Everest to the International Space Station. One of Stan’s biggest dreams in life was to invent something important, and he found great satisfaction in achieving this goal.

In 1987, Stan helped found Pacific Vascular Institute (PVI) and served as its first president. Under his guidance, this chain of vascular ultra-sound testing clinics grew from seeing 30,000 patients a year to over 600,000. Between PVI and Physio, Stan’s business acumen and expertise in medical technology has saved and improved the lives of countless people.

In 1994, Stan married Rosemary Dahlquist in one of his favorite places, the family ranch near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Over the years, they have had many great adventures together, hiking, boating, skiing and travelling the world. Stan loved to travel, and has been to all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world. Stan and Rosemary moved to Bellingham in 2014 where they enjoyed daily walks along the bay, having coffee at Woods, and planning their next trip together.

Stan found great joy in watching his grandchildren grow up, from watching Isaac play basketball to teaching Daniel and Timothy how to ski. He is a role model to them of what it means to pursue a good education, set goals and work hard to contribute to society.

After a brief illness, Stan passed away peacefully at Peace Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center on October 4 with Rosemary and Kirsten by his side. A celebration of his life will be held Sunday, November 6, 2016 at 12noon at the Bellingham Ferry Terminal, 355 Harris Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to Habitat for Humanity, 1825 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225.