Font ResizeAfter Tillman R. Sease Sr. completed his service in the Army, he worked to show young people how to succeed in life.
As a teacher, Sease also coached multiple sports.
Sease grew up in York and graduated from William Penn Senior High School.
He then attended Bluefield State College in West Virginia. After graduation, Sease returned to Bluefield, where he was the chairman of the Department of Health and Physical Education, assistant coach in football and basketball and head coach in baseball.
"They had one person do the whole nine yards then," said his son, Tillman Sease Jr. of Upper Marlboro, Md.
Sease Sr. eventually went on to teach and coach at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
His jobs as coach and teacher allowed him to mentor young people both on and off the playing field.
"A lot of the students returned to seek advice from my father after they graduated," Sease Jr. said. "Mentoring, teaching and coaching - those areas were important to him."
Another of Sease Sr.'s sons, York resident Vincent Barnes, also shares his memories of his father.
What is Sease best known for?
What makes him a hero?
"One being our dad was always there for us and how he gave himself to the community and the school," Barnes said.
"Family was important to him and also academics, education, taking whatever opportunity you were given and maximizing it," Sease Jr. said. "That was, I think, one of the parts of his legacy that would make him a hero in the community."
Who or what was Sease's inspiration?
"I probably would say his family members," Sease Jr. said. "I think he might have been the only member of his family to go past high school, so he always thought it was his responsibility to do well."
How did Sease affect the York County community?
"I think he just . . . led by example. He showed what you can do when you put your mind to something," Barnes said. "Especially back in those days. He served his country well and he went onto become an athlete first and then a teacher and a coach. So he was a professional man. He went out and showed what you can do if you put your mind to it."
How did he affect his profession?
"Schools weren't giving to athletics when he got here. Initially, it wasn't that important," Sease Jr. said. "He had to recruit from the student body and compete with other teams that had full scholarships for athletics. Finally, Howard turned around."
What should York County residents know about Sease?
"The fact that, like I stated earlier, that he led by example. He went out and didn't just talk about something, he did it," Barnes said. "To me, it seemed like he lived life to the max. He enjoyed what he was doing and he did it well."
What is something few people realize about him?
Sease Jr. said few people realized how strong his father's ties were to those he coached.
"Most of the time, these guys and girls would come back with their families and ask for his advice with their careers and families," Sease Jr. said. "A lot of this I didn't know until after he passed."
Is there anyone following in Sease's footsteps today?
"I'm sure there are a number of his players who coached and who are doing some of the same things. I guess I started to, but I decided to switch," Sease Jr. said. "But there are a number of his students who are still coaching and teaching."
What would he think of York County today?
"With some of the positive things of York, I'm sure he would be very proud of the CA, integration," Sease Jr. said. "I'm sure there are negative things that have befallen cities all across the country. But his thing was to push the system to give you what you are supposed to have."
TILLMAN R. SEASE SR. BIOGRAPHY
Occupation: Retired from coaching in 1974 from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He retired as a teacher in 1980.
Born: Sept. 6, 1916
Died: Sept. 2, 1988
Birthplace: Bamberg, S.C.
Children: Three children
Education: Bachelor's degree in physical education/health and recreation from Bluefield State College in Bluefield, W.Va.; master's degree in education from Columbia University, N.Y.
