Jayme Seehafer, of Arcata, died in October of cancer. She was raised outside of Sacramento, where she loved the green oasis her father built in their backyard in the grassy woodlands, with a pond, a small fruit orchard, a treehouse and chickens. She discovered the Grateful Dead and their followers as a teenager, and she and her sister adopted their tie-died festival wear as well as their rebellious vibe. She continued to love music and would often attend local and distant shows, and spent one summer on the road with one of her favorite bands.

Jayme moved to Humboldt to attend HSU. She loved the setting and the community and decided to stay, taking on various jobs while being a single mom and attending school. Once she earned her degree in biology, Jayme joined the U.S. Forest Service Redwood Sciences Lab in Arcata, first as a Watershed Steward with Americorps and later as a permanent employee. While there, she mastered a series of tasks including stream surveying, storm flow monitoring, data entry, and lab processing, which led to her niche as a data and lab manager for the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds and various other projects.

Jayme was smart, hardworking, kind, generous and creative. She was always interested in learning, including programming computers, how fungi fit in our world, carpentry and painting. She used her skills to create elegant data processing procedures, accurate and accessible data publications, fun toys in her office, and beautiful paintings on the walls of her home. Her family and friends miss her terribly, but we’re glad to have known her.

She’s survived by her son, Kinder Seehafer of Arcata, father Jon Seehafer and sister Nika Seehafer, her husband John, and their child Echo Valor in the Sacramento area, and sister Kia in Minnesota. If you would like to honor Jayme, please consider a donation to the ACLU of Northern California, Indivisible, a cancer or women’s health organization, or someone who needs your support.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jayme Seehafer’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.