Bill Seebold Sr., 91, a boat racing national champion who launched a six-decade family racing dynasty, died of natural causes at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, February 1, 2007.

Mr. Seebold was a native of Granite City, Ill., and resided there until 1973, when he relocated to his 195-acre farm in Iberia, Mo. He was a long-time member of the Granite City Kiwanis Club.

Mr. Seebold, known to the boat racing community across the U.S. as “Grandpa” Seebold, was a skilled machinist who built his own boats and engines and specialized in propeller modification.
“All I ever thought of was boats, boats, boats,” he once said. “In 1938 I built my first boat in my basement and bought a one-cylinder engine for $15. Then I just rode up and down the Mississippi. I didn't go very fast, only about seven miles an hour downstream and a mile an hour up. But I loved it.”
After World War II, Mr. Seebold built a runabout capable of 58 m.p.h. and began competing in regional and national boat races. In 1955 and 1956 he won championships in the C Racing Runabout and C Racing Hydro classes of the National Outboard Association. He retired from driving racing boats in 1960, but continued to serve as crew chief for his son, Bill Seebold Jr., and later grandsons Mike Seebold and Tim Seebold. All three have won national and world championships.

Mr. Seebold entered the marine business in 1949, operating first out of the family basement and later from Granite City Boat & Motor on Madison Avenue. He sold the business in 1973.

Mr. Seebold is survived by his wife of 68 years, Pauline Burnett Seebold; two children, Bill (Lynne) Seebold Jr. and Annette (Michael) Gillis; grandchildren Mike (Lori) Seebold, Kim (Nick) Dochwat, Tim (Debbie) Seebold, Cathy (Dennis) Reising and Billy Seebold III; and great-grandchildren Adam (Chrystal) Bernaix, Haley Dochwat and Cally and Katy Reising.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, at Irwin Chapel, 591 Glen Crossing Road, Glen Carbon, Ill. 62034. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 7, at the chapel.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church, 3 Bonnie Drive, Iberia, Mo. 65486; or Legacy Powerboat Ministry, P.O. Box 373, Evinston, Fla. 32633.

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Irwin Chapel: (618) 288-9500