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At Sonny Seiler’s 90th birthday celebration back in February at the

Oglethorpe Club there was the ultimate social.

His trio of doting daughters—Swann, Bess and Sarah—and brother

Charles made sure that the guest list included exactly whom Sonny wanted

to show up; and to remind him that even though he was getting long in the

tooth, that he had a lot of good days left: another sojourn between the

hedges, more opportunity to fish the intercostal waterways of Savannah,

another ride over Johnny Mercer’s Moon River bridge, another day at his

beach house at Tybee, another night at the Uga suite at the Georgia

Center, road games such as Jacksonville and God-willing, another

unforgettable outing in the College Football Playoffs.

 

None of us would have considered that he had seen his last Georgia

football game, but sadly that is what happened.

His memory banks were chockful of keepsakes that made him, along

with his late wife, Cecelia, the toast of the state and the university often

since a wedding gift in 1956 led to the Uga dynasty which brought such

glory to old Georgia.

 

A certain amount of celebrity came with being the Ugas’ caretaker,

but it was a far greater responsibility than most fans realized. The day-to-

day maintenance and chores could only be managed with much tender

loving care and the Seiler’s offered that in abundance.

 

A graduate of the UGA Law School, Sonny became the quintessential

Uga historian, manager and friend with the aiding and abetting of Cecilia

and the children to whom the reigning Uga was the family pet.

Sonny was an athlete who swam for the accomplished Bump

Gabrielsen at UGA. (He once swam the river from Savannah to Tybee.)

B

efore that, he played basketball at Newberry. Friends kidded him about

guarding Furman’s legendary Frank Selvy when Selvy scored 100 points

against the Wolves in 1954. That was not exactly accurate but became

great conversational fodder among his close friends.

 

An accomplished practical joker, Sonny was imbued quality that few

of that ilk have. He could dish it out, but he could take it. If the joke was on

him, he laughed the loudest and then schemed to get you back.

 

In the courtroom, he was as competitive as any lawyer, his big

moment centered around a murder trial involving an antique dealer and a

paramour which led to a book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,”

 

which became a Clint Eastwood movie in which Sonny played the part of a

judge.

 

If you knew him, you likely would agree that it would be difficult to

determine which Sonny enjoyed or loved more—his native Savannah or

Athens.

 

He never wanted to live anywhere but Savannah, but always gloried

in any sojourn to the Classic City. For sure, he loved his hometown, and

like so many Bulldog aficionados, he held equal affection for his favorite

institution.

 

You saw that fire-engine Chevrolet station wagon parked at the

Georgia Center, cruising about town and parked at places such as the

bookstore and Sanford Stadium. It always attracted a crowd even in the

hinterlands as the family journeyed to Athens for home game weekends.

Places like Louisville, Soperton, Vidalia, Wrightsville, Tennille, Sandersville,

and Sparta—depending on the route the Seilers took to Athens for home

game weekends.

 

Kids adored Uga. They would knock on the door of the Seiler homes

in Savannah and ask to take Uga for a walk. They engulfed him at the

Georgia Center on the weekends and considered it the ultimate privilege to

 

walk the grounds with Uga under the giant pecan trees which line the

property.

 

I will always be indebted to the Seiler’s for naming two of the Uga’s

for me and hold dear those many unforgettable times I fished with Uga on

Sonny’s boat, “Silver Britches.” Sonny was expert at fishing and knew the

rivers in the marshes around Savannah like the back of his hand.

 

We would catch trout and bass, bring them to the Seiler dock at their

home on Dutch Island. Sonny would clean them, something at which he

was skillful, and Cecelia would cook them with an expertise that would turn

the heads of seasoned chefs in New Orleans.

 

Sonny was well read, he enjoyed playing golf at the Savannah Golf

Club which he would tell you was the oldest club in the country, and never

tired of hosting Uga in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

 

The chapel bell ringing, a Budweiser in the Uga suite with his closest

friends, a hamburger at Allen’s, any milestone or significant tribute that

came to Savannah or UGA, gave him the greatest of highs.

 

The Uga dynasty has been great for the University, and it took a

special family to help bring that about. Sorrowfully, we lost Cecilia in 2014

and now we have lost the patriarch.

 

Long live the Uga’s.