For 40 years, Sieg improved quality of life in rural areas

It seemed almost appropriate that Donald L. Sieg was stricken while giving a report at a board meeting of Harrison REMC, an organization and a movement to which he was dedicated for almost four decades.
A part-owner of Ramsey Popcorn, long-time board member of Harrison REMC and former chairman of Hoosier Energy, Sieg died last Tuesday night, May 24, 2005, at Harrison County Hospital in Corydon. He was 70.
Sieg, of Corydon, served almost 40 years on the REMC’s board of directors and was board president from 1976 to 1979. For the past 20 years he represented Harrison REMC as a board member for Hoosier Energy (Harrison REMC’s power supplier), said Harrison REMC manager and chief executive officer Paul Beckort. Sieg was chairman of the Hoosier Energy Board from 1996 to 1999.
Beckort said Sieg was a strong advocate for rural electric members, not just in his area, but throughout Southern Indiana.
‘He took pride in the fact that Harrison REMC and all rural electric cooperatives brought electricity to farms and all the areas investor-owned utilities would not serve,’ Beckort said. ‘Being involved with agriculture all his life, Mr. Sieg was keenly aware of how much technology could improve the quality of life for people not living in cities.’
Beckort said Sieg never made a decision concerning the REMC without looking at the costs and benefits to the customers.
‘He brought the skills he learned from years of running a family-owned business and used them well at Harrison REMC,’ he said. ‘We will miss his leadership.’
Sieg was a native of Ramsey, born Oct. 30, 1934, the son of the late Edward G. and Agnes Gettelfinger Sieg.
He was a retired co-owner of Ramsey Popcorn Co., a peacetime Navy Seabee veteran, and a member of Knights of Columbus in Lanesville and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Corydon.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Eugene R. and Mark J. Sieg, and two sisters, Mary Rita Robertson and Theresa Kendell.
Survivors include his wife, the former Philomena (Billie) Crivaro; a son, Dr. Steven M. Sieg of Corydon; a daughter, Sandra M. Sieg of Seattle; a brother, Wildred E. Sieg Sr. of Ramsey; a sister, Joan Seipel of Lanesville, and two grandchildren.
The funeral Mass was Saturday at St. Joseph with burial in the church cemetery. Father Louis Manna officiated, and Steve Sieg and his sister, Sandra, spoke lovingly of their father. Sandra said her father was a ‘low-maintenance father. He never wanted or needed anything.’ When he visited her in the beautiful northwest part of the United States, she asked what he wanted to do or see.
He replied, ‘I want to help you rewire your workshop.’
‘Well, where do you want to go?’ Sandra asked.
‘Home Depot, to get some wire to rewire your workshop.’
What he gave her, Sandra said, was unconditional love, a theme that was echoed by her brother in several humorous anecdotes.
The pallbearers were Eric, Jason, Daniel and Wilfred Sieg Jr., and Paul and Phillip Robertson. The soloist was Lanesville’s Maria Solis, a 16-year-old with an extraordinary soprano voice. Donald Sieg was her great-uncle. She sang ‘Ave Maria.’
A Rosary service was held Friday at Swarens Funeral Home in Ramsey.