Edward (Ed) Stephen Seguine, Sr., age 77, passed away peacefully at his home in Arroyo Grande, CA, on Monday, October 21, of complications from brain cancer. He was surrounded by members of his family, including his wife.
Seguine was born on December 15, 1946, in Long Beach, CA, to the late Helen Dorothy (Williams) and Robert Paul Seguine. Raised in Montebello, CA, and the oldest of three surviving children, he was close to his family. In particular, Seguine reportedly gained a dual appreciation from his artistic mother and engineering-minded father for both the beauty and richness of life as well as the wonder and scientific rigor of how the world works.
While completing his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (BS 1968), Seguine met his eternal companion, Kathy Lynn Munt. Following a courtship that spanned the Caltech—UCLA divide, and involved traversing many miles of LA traffic, they were married on June 15, 1968, and sealed in the Los Angeles Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) on June 17, 1969. Seguine began working for Proctor & Gamble immediately after graduation and continued with them for the next 15 years. Seguine and his wife's life together, and his career, took this southern California couple across the country for work, to Lynwood, CA; Jackson, TN; Cincinnati, OH; Sam Ramon, CA; Hanover, PA; and back to their California roots and partial retirement in Arroyo Grande, CA.
His career ultimately blended the beauty and rigor he learned from his parents into achievements in the chocolate industry. Following his time at Proctor & Gamble, Seguine worked for Guittard Chocolate Company for over 30 years. When he retired, he did so only partially, immediately continuing with a consulting business, Seguine Cacao Cocoa & Chocolate Advisors, and working with producers and confectioners around the world. Over the years, he worked with the World Bank, USAID, FDA, and so many other large and small organizations the world over. One of his most fulfilling projects was his work on Cacao of Excellence, a competition and organization he helped found in 2009, and created specifically to celebrate and recognize the diversity of cacao around the world and to highlight the work of cacao producers, without whom there would be no chocolate.
Seguine often described the experience of good chocolate as a symphony—"a marvel experienced over time, with high notes and deep richness, with unexpected turns. A thing to be enjoyed and shared." He reportedly lived his life as a symphony: there were high notes, deep richness, and unexpected turns. Through it all, his care for individuals, commitment to his vocation, deep faith, and love for his family formed the musical strands woven into that symphony.
Seguine is survived by his wife of 56 years, Kathy; their six children and their spouses, Ed (Jen), Bill (Es), Dan (Tricia), Lynn (Eric) Jorgensen, Julie (Justin) Chapman, and Tom (Heather); twenty-two grandchildren, three grandchildren-in-law, and five great- grandchildren; and by his siblings Ken (Jay Gilbertson) and Janet (Bill) Cardillo.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, November 2, at 11:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Santa Maria Stake Center (908 Sierra Madre Ave, Santa Maria, CA). In lieu of flowers, and in honor of his unique legacy in the field of chocolate, the family invites you to share your favorite chocolate with someone in his memory.
