Benny Dale Seay

Benny Dale Seay, 76, of Whittier, NC passed away on March 24, 2024 at Asheville Specialty Hospital.  He was born on March 18, 1948 about a mile from Bryson City, North Carolina..  His father, Faset Thomas Seay, was born on Lands Creek, a few miles up a dirt road from Bryson City.  His mother, Mary Jane (Hagans) Seay was born on a farm near Clover, South Carolina.  Benny’s parents met when both were working in the Fulton Cotton Mill in Gastonia, North Carolina.  

Benny had three older brothers, Robert Thomas (“Bobby”), born 4/1/1937, Faset Joaquin (“Billy”), born 9/26/1938, and Faset Thomas, Jr. (“Buddy”), born 3/16/1940.  They were joined by a sister, Mary Facelia, born 10/09/51.  

The family home, on an unpaved county road, had three-bedrooms, a small wood-burning stove in the living room, a kitchen with a cold-water sink, and a wood-burning “laundry stove” with two “eyes” for cooking and a tiny oven.  Behind the house near  the kitchen a small recess in a concrete retaining wall with a heavy oak door was the “ice box”.  During summers the “ice man” would periodically bring a block of ice to keep it’s contents cool.  There was an outhouse about 50 feet away near the chicken house.  The family cow, pig, chickens and a large corn field provided most of our food.  A nearby country store provided other necessities we couldn’t produce ourselves.  

Benny’s childhood was that of a typical country boy in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.  His mother took all her children to the Presbyterian Church in Bryson City each Sunday as well as to young people’s meetings, choir practice – the older boys sang in the church choir - and all other church activities.  Benny’s father worked away from home on large construction projects and came home only infrequently.  

In 1951, when Benny was only three years old, his father took a job in Morocco, North Africa, then came home a few years later to divorce Benny’s mother.  His older brothers were teenagers by the time he was in first grade, so he pretty much had to “shift for himself” and, except for his sister, was pretty much on his own.

In 1959, when Benny was about 11 years old the family moved to Mount Holly, North Carolina where his mother’s sister lived.  He joined the Boy Scouts, earned many merit badges, and achieved the rank of Eagle, the highest in Scouting.

Benny was always industrious and a hard worker, always seeking to advance himself.  While in high school he worked in a large grocery store and at the age of 18 became the “Front Manager”.  

Also while in high school, he met his wife-to-be, Sonnia Rendon.   They were married in 1967 and had three children, Armando, Monica and Tina.
After high school Benny joined his brother Buddy who was working construction in Thailand.  Being a fast learner and natural leader, in just a few years he became foreman and then Project Manager on large projects including exploring for oil in the jungles of Indonesia.

Benny had one more son, Richard Seay, later in life and eventually returned to the North Carolina mountains and took over the management of his father’s flea market, “Uncle Bill’s”, located along the Tuckaseegee River near Sylvia.  

Benny was a natural raconteur and story-teller by nature, always entertaining anyone who would listen, and eventually started writing the stories about his experiences.  Eventually he started writing short anecdotes which were regularly published in the local newspaper.

Memorial Services to Celebrate Benny's life will be held at 12:00 PM Saturday April 6 at Benson Funeral & Cremation Services, 101 Oak Grove St., Mt. Holly, NC. Visitation for family and friends will be held 1 hour prior to the service. Inurnment will be private.