Kevin Thomas Seidel

Kevin passed away peacefully on October 17, 2025, at the age of 74 at his home in Los Angeles, CA, surrounded by his loving family and friends, after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer for which there is presently no cure. Kevin was a beloved father to Rachel Westbay (Anthony) and beloved grandfather to Beau Carter Westbay and Luke Anthony Westbay.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on January 18, 1951, Kevin was the eldest of four sons of the late Robert Seidel and Gloria (Overman) Seidel Olson. Raised in Blue Island, Illinois, he graduated from Eisenhower High School and earned a B.A. in Education (Business Teacher Education) from Eastern Illinois University. Fueled by a love of literature, he later completed a B.A. in English (Teacher Education).

He began his career teaching business and coaching swimming and tennis at Thornwood Township High School, then Hillcrest High School. While at Hillcrest, he fulfilled a longtime dream and earned his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School by attending evening classes. However, education remained his calling: he went on to teach British and American literature at Oak Forest High School, where he also continued coaching.

Kevin then pursued an administrative career and became a Dean of Students at Tinley Park High School in Tinley Park, Illinois. Because he loved to travel and was committed to enriching classroom knowledge with real world experience, he planned,organized and chaperoned many well-revered educational trips abroad each summer throughout his career at all four high schools. After retiring from Tinley Park High School, Kevin accepted a position in Huntington Beach, California, as an administrator in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, where he eventually became Vice Principal. Kevin retired from the HBUHS District in 2020.

Kevin’s greatest love was his daughter, Rachel, and his two grandsons. However, it was his students who were a very close second. He believed firmly that a teacher was solely defined by the impact made on those he or she taught, and his was immense. He is known fondly by those he taught and coached as having a tough love approach that was sometimes not appreciated for years after. Many credit him for helping them achieve their full potential (one he had the gift of seeing, especially in those who couldn’t see it themselves), teaching them to love and interpret literature, and for teaching that education opens doors very little else can. All this he did with a wicked sense of humor and a heavy dose of sarcasm that made up a huge part of his character. His teaching methods, at times progressive and unorthodox, sometimes invited skepticism from his colleagues—but it was precisely this approach that left his students with not only a memorable education in law and literature, but also in life itself.

As evidenced by his coaching of the sport, Kevin was an avid tennis player and loved the game from a young age. He played and watched it endlessly. He also enjoyed bowling, a love instilled in him early by his father, and played in three leagues at the time of his death. He also thrived in friendship and volunteerism, especially in West Hollywood, where his quick humor and big-hearted loyalty made him a fixture—and he bled cardinal and gold for USC football, catching games at the Coliseum whenever he could. Nothing brought him greater joy, however, than cheering on his daughter, Rachel, whose journey in medicine he celebrated daily.

Kevin impacted many from a great many walks of life, and his legacy is evident everywhere, in his family, friends, and in generations of students.

Kevin is survived by his beloved daughter, Rachel (Anthony) Westbay, his beloved grandsons, Beau and Luke Westbay, his brothers, Timothy Seidel (Celeste), Daniel Seidel (Neal Katz) and Patrick Seidel (Thomas Fullington).

In lieu of services and if you would like to honor Kevin, you can donate to the Glioblastoma Foundation to help support their continued research on this deadly disease.

https://glioblastomafoundation.org/

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