by Susan Foley
Mom (Theresa [Trausch] Seiker, 1927-2021) was the 12th of 13 children born to John and Susie Trausch on a farm outside of Roseland, Nebraska. Grandma Trausch’s pregnancy with Mom was difficult and the family was encouraged to pray for the intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who had recently been canonized. Mom was born premature and was named after St. Therese. She had 10 brothers and two sisters. Two of her brothers, Fathers Anthony and Robert Trausch, were priests of the Diocese of Lincoln. Faith and family were priorities for her family as they embraced hard work on the farm.
Beginning in the eighth grade, Mom was the parish organist at Sacred Heart Church in Roseland, for eight years until she went to college. After graduating from high school Mom helped at home on the farm for three years while her mother was in poor health. She developed some excellent cooking skills during this time! She attended Mount Marty College for two years and then worked as a stenographer for the Army Corp of Engineers in Omaha.
She married Dad, Vince Seiker, Aug. 7, 1954, and they moved to live and work on a farm outside of Elmwood. Mom and Dad were active members of St Mary Parish in Elmwood where she taught kindergarten CCD for five years and was an organist for 40 years.
God granted them children and I am blessed to be the middle child of Mom and Dad’s five children: Steve (Omaha), Father Mark (Aurora), Msgr. Daniel (Lincoln), Father Leo (Lincoln).
As their family grew, Mom’s brother, Father Robert Trausch, encouraged the family to consider sending the children to a Catholic school. When I was entering the first grade, my parents made the decision to begin driving 25 miles from our farm to Cathedral School in Lincoln, so that we could receive a Catholic education. Mom would drive in the spring and fall during the busy farming seasons. Dad would drive us in the winter months and he worked a variety of part-time jobs during the school day.
Mom was the volunteer librarian at Cathedral School for 15 years, and despite a significant hearing loss, she was involved in many prayer groups. She had a weekly holy hour at Cathedral for 35 years. After retiring from farming, Mom and Dad moved to Lincoln in 2000 and lived in the home they built across the street from St. Peter Church, where they attended daily Mass together and prayed a weekly holy hour until they became home bound.
After a total of 16 years of driving to Lincoln, all five of us had graduated from Cathedral Elementary and Pius X High School. Even though this undertaking necessitated financial difficulty and much family management, it greatly unified our family and helped us to realize the many spiritual benefits of Catholic education. Their sacrifices to provide us a Catholic education built upon the faith foundation that was already rooted in our home and nourished each of us to discern our vocations.
When Mom drove us to school, she would always begin the trip by leading us in praying the Morning Offering followed by the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She frequently reminded us that we have two mothers! Prayer was an integral part of her daily life. Prayer before and after meals were never missed. The Liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost were celebrated with special prayers and religious decorations.
As a busy mom she also prayed while she worked, so that whether she was preparing a meal, cleaning, or working in the garden she was offering that activity to God. Her example of routinely leading us in the Morning Offering has impacted me to pray it each morning, helping me to realize that any work that I am called to do in my vocation as wife and mother is the Lord’s work, because He has called me to it and my whole day and all my activities whether pleasant or unpleasant, exciting or mundane can be offered back to God as a prayer. Her life of faith greatly impacted our family!
A Prayer from Mom’s Prayer Book:
Prayer for Family Guidance
Dear Lord, show my family what is Your holy will. If You want them to serve You as a priest or religious, help them with Your light and grace. If it is Your holy will that they should marry, please send them the one whom You know best for them, and who will build up with them a holy and happy family as You want it to be.
