By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

It was only fitting that the family festival in her name unfolded June 18 in Tamara Wilson-Seidle’s home town, at the high school from which she graduated, among those she loved.

The setting for the memorial tribute to Seidle, who lost her life in an act of domestic violence exactly one year ago, was selected by her fellow classmates in Neptune High School where she and they graduated on June 16, 1982.

The event, co-sponsored by 180 Turning Lives Around, Inc., a domestic violence prevention organization, was held in the wide expanse of the school’s parking lot which was ringed by 20 arcade-style game booths and food trucks offering a wide variety of Jersey Shore eats. Proceeds from the event were earmarked to benefit Seidle's nine children, ages 8 to 25, organizers said.

The painful facts of the case resurfaced in area newspapers once again as the one year anniversary of Seidle’s death at the hands of her ex-husband, a Neptune police sergeant, was marked June 16. But those who love Seidle focused the benefit and their full intention instead on her children.

Click here to read story on the life, death of Tamara Wilson-Seidle.

And the Seidle siblings, several of whom attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Asbury Park, were there, basking in community support. They greeted everyone so graciously, from parishioners of Mother of Mercy Parish, Asbury Park, where their mother was not only a catechist but an inspiration, to Neptune friends and neighbors to Olympic Gold Medalist Christie Rampone, who reached out to the family after their mother’s death.

The Seidle children mingled easily with those of all generations who came to honor their mother’s memory, sank a few baskets on the court and proved agile competitors in the carnival games. Onlookers called them a tribute to their mother who raised them with faith, grace and a style no one who knew her from school days has ever forgotten.

Classmates, wearing bright yellow T-shirts commemorating, “Tami’s Family Festival,” manned the booths and kept things running smoothly. Among them was Clare Freda, a member of Holy Innocents Parish, Neptune, who remembered Tami as studious and well-rounded. “She was the home coming queen and a cheer leader. She was a member of the Girls Athletic Association and helped set up teams, Freda recalled. 

What especially endeared Seidle to classmates and friends was her abiding connection to the Neptune area, Freda said. 

That connection included devoted service to the Church over the years. Monitor stories reported that she had served as a catechist in St. Peter Claver Parish, Asbury Park, before moving to Our Lady of Providence Parish, Neptune, where she was an altar server coordinator, reader and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.

In 2012, she was named religious education coordinator for the parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Holy Spirit, which went on to become Mother of Mercy Parish.

“It’s a beautiful day,” said Frankie Winrow, a catechist in Mother of Mercy, who served alongside Seidle for years at the parish and in the community for years. She called it a good example of how the community has rallied for the family since the tragedy happened.

“This response to the community has been overwhelming and awesome,” said Winrow. “To see the community come together and stay together and have the kids know the whole community is behind them with prayer, finances and whatever is needed is a wonderful thing.”

“To have them respond with such grace in a grateful way, shows they are a great family, raised well by their mom. They are a tribute to their mother.”