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Laidacker (Ladd) Mannan Seaberg journeyed into the arms of his Lord on the afternoon of January 29, 2017 after a lengthy battle with a rare neurological disease, PSP.
Ladd was born on Flag Day, June 14, 1946, to Ivan and Blanch Seaberg in Beaumont, Texas. He spent his youth in China, Texas, attending high school in Beaumont where he was a competitive tennis player and very active in science activities. In 1964 he won the Regional Science Fair in Houston, TX, and many awards at the National Science Fair in Baltimore, MD, that year. He was featured in numerous national publications and appeared on the nationally syndicated Science All Stars television show. He became a HAM radio operator at a young age and enjoyed helping during hurricane disasters in the Houston area. In later years he enjoyed introducing Boy Scouts and others to Ham and became a lifetime member of ARRL.
He met the love of his life, Karen Cray, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 1964. Both had won first place awards with the U.S. Air Force at the National Science Fair and were awarded summer jobs at the base in Dayton, Ohio. On August 28, 1966, Ladd and Karen married and completed their college careers at Texas Tech University in 1969. Ladd graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical Engineering and was a member of Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Fraternity.
After graduation Ladd and Karen moved back to her hometown of Atchison, Kansas. Ladd spent the next 48 years devoted to family, MGP and the city of Atchison. Ladd joined MGP Ingredients in 1969 and rose from distillery production manager to vice president and manager of the company’s starch division in 1970. He was made vice president and plant manager in 1972 and was named president in 1980. He retired as Chairman of MGP’s Board on August 27, 2009, because of illness. He served for 26 years as president of the company and was also chief executive officer for 20 years.
Associated with MGP throughout his entire professional career he led numerous progressive developments at the company, including several major expansion projects, facility and technological upgrades, product diversifications and an extensive internal restructuring process. He performed an integral role in MGP becoming a traded company on the Nasdaq Exchange in 1988, and in the growth of the company’s product lines that included the addition of several specialty wheat proteins and starches for food applications, along with increased premium distilled spirits capabilities. He was a founding member and past president of the International Wheat Gluten Association. He also served for several years as president of the U.S. Wheat Gluten Industry Council, and was a member of the USDA Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Grains, Feeds and Oilseeds, representing the U.S. grain community at World Trade Organization meetings. Other professional memberships included the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Water Pollution Control Federation, and the Technical Committee of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. In addition, Mr. Seaberg was a board member of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a member of Kansas Inc., and numerous other state committees under former Kansas Governor Bill Graves. He also served for several years on the boards of Exchange National Bank and Trust Company, Atchison, and Benedictine College, and was an advisory director of Commerce Bank of Kansas City.
Ladd was one of the original founders of the Atchison Area Economic Development Council and was its chairman until 2009. He also was a longtime member and chairman of the Atchison Santa Fe Depot Board of Trustees; a member of the Board of Directors of the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, Atchison, and the Board of Directors of the Atchison County Historical Society; a past member of the Young Presidents’ Organization; and past chairman and president of the board for the Kansas City Presidents’ Organization. He additionally had been a member and chairman of the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; president of Atchison Kiwanis; former general chairman and special gifts chairman of the Atchison Chapter of the American Cancer Society; state vice president of the Kansas Jaycees; and a lifetime member of the USJCI Senate. A former pilot, he was the guiding force in the purchase of “Muriel,” the last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E for Atchison, and had a very special kinship with its owner, Grace McGuire.
As a founder and charter member of the Amelia Earhart Bridge committee, he was instrumental in initiating action leading to the construction of a new bridge over the Missouri River in Atchison in 2012. He additionally spearheaded the funding and purchase of land and a walking bridge at the Independence Creek Lewis and Clark Historical Site in Atchison; and played a significant role in both the funding and building of the Kanza Earth Lodge at the site. He was a lifetime member of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.
In recognition of his exceptional leadership in business, industry and local community affairs, Mr. Seaberg was honored by the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce in 2008 when he was inducted into the chamber’s prestigious Hall of Fame. Along with his wife, Karen, his father-in-law, Cloud L. “Bud” Cray, MGP chairman emeritus, and other family members, he received the Cray-Seaberg Vision of Excellence Award from the Santa Fe Depot Board of Trustees in 2014. This distinguished award was established to honor individuals and families who demonstrate exceptionally outstanding community leadership. Three years prior to that, he and his wife were recognized for their extraordinary service to Benedictine College by being awarded that institution’s highest honor, the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict.
Ladd and his wife, Karen, raised two daughters, Lori (Roy) Mingus, Lawrence, Kansas, and Melissa (Kyle) Huntington, Atchison, Kansas. Grandchildren include Brie, Saxon, Aidan and Rhogan Mingus and Cray (CJ) and Parker Ladd Huntington. He is also survived by his brother John (Faye) Seaberg, China, Texas, and a sister, Charlotte Seaberg, Beaumont, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ivan and Blanch Seaberg and a brother Charles Seaberg. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Atchison where he served both as an Elder and a Deacon.
Ladd’s greatest passion was his family. He never missed anything his girls or grandchildren were involved in. He loved to travel the world with Karen. Together they sailed, scuba-dived, hiked, snow skied…. In his spare time he was an avid runner, wind-power enthusiast and astronomer. Ladd was greatly respected and admired by all. He will be remembered as a devoted husband, loving father, grandfather and son, great friend and trusted comrade. No husband, father or grandfather ever gave more love, or was more loved in return. He will be missed.
Funeral services for Ladd will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday, February 6, at the First Presbyterian Church, 302 North Fifth St. in Atchison. The family will receive friends during a visitation from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home Chapel, 800 Kansas Ave., Atchison, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to Curepsp.org, the Atchison Y.M.C.A. or the First Presbyterian Church of Atchison and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Condolences and memories to the family may be left online at www.beckerdyer.com.