Persophenea Seph L. House, age 60, of Wooster, entered into rest on Friday, April 30 at the Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital. She was born on May 21, 1960 in Wooster, Ohio
Seph was a 1978 graduate of Wooster High School. She was employed at Bank One, The Village Network and Cornerstone Elementary School.
She served as a foster care provider for more than 25 years and fostered 50+ children over the course of that time. Fostering was her true calling and passion; she was an honorary mother to all of the children she fostered and directly impacted so many young lives in a positive and meaningful way.
Seph was a lifelong and devoted member of Second Baptist Church She raised her children in the church and could be found singing in the choir, directing the choir, assisting with Vacation Bible School, assisting as the Youth Director, serving on the Kitchen Committee and as the Treasurer.
She was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, auntie, cousin and friend. She was beloved by so many family members, friends and members of the Wooster community; we are collectively blessed beyond measure for our time with her.
Seph had a great sense of humor, loved spending time with her children and family, watching the Hallmark channel, crime TV shows and movies; she loved amusement parks, especially Cedar Point and traveling to see friends and family.
She was a compassionate and caring person with a loving heart and a sincere generosity of spirit. She was devoted to the care of her parents and family.
Seph is survived by her parents, Willie J. House Sr. and Ernestine House of Wooster and her children, Darrion G. House of Columbus, D Vaughn W. House of Cincinnati, D Metre T. House. D Quan D. Marsh and D Nasia T House all of Wooster; grandchildren Dakari House and D Nae Chambers of Wooster; siblings Willie J. House Jr (Linda) of Mansfield, Ohio Virnette House-Browning of Westlake, Ohio, Dwayne P. House and Darrell P. House of Wooster; nieces Jordon L. Bacon and Chelsea L. House of Wooster and Aidan C. Browning of Westlake and five great nieces and nephews of Wooster.
She is preceded in death by her daughter, D Naila House.
Visitation will be held on Friday, May 7 from 4 8 p.m. at McIntire, Bradham & Sleek Funeral Home, 216 E. Larwill St., Wooster. Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.
Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 8 at Second Baptist Church, 245 S. Grant St., Wooster. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Covid protocols will be observed. The service will also be streamed live on Saturday on the McIntire, Bradham & Sleek Facebook page.
Memorial contributions can be made in lieu of flowers to the Dakari and D Nae Education Benevolent Fund, donations can be sent to the following addresses: Huntington Bank, 135 E. Liberty St., Wooster, OH 44691 or to Huntington Bank, 3224 Northwest Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43221.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.mcintirebradhamsleek.com
Memorial Contributions
Memorial contributions can be made in lieu of flowers to the Dakari and D Nae Education Benevolent Fund, donations can be sent to the following addresses: Huntington Bank, 135 E. Liberty St., Wooster, OH 44691 or to Huntington Bank 3224 Northwest Blvd.,Columbus, OH 43221.
Service
Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 8 at Second Baptist Church, 245 S. Grant St., Wooster.
Visitation
Friday, May 7 from 4 8 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday
My deepest condolences to you and your family Virnette. We will keep you and your family in our prayers.
My heart goes out to this special family and friends. Seth was a young girl when I left Worcester but when I would come back to visit I would see her at church and I knew that she was a woman of God and I would always see children around her. Yes, raising children and directing them in the way that they should go was her specialty
I hope God wraps this family and all the people Ms. House cherished over the years. I am so lucky to have Darrion with me each day at work. He is a true testament of the woman she was.
Rest In Heaven Angel You will be truly missed love and lots of hugs
My deepest condolences to the House family. I will keep you all in my prayers. I’m a friend of Virnette’s.
Such an amazing women. My kids loved her so much. Prayers to the family. Hugs ❤️
My deepest condolences to her family and children . She had such a beautiful uplifting spirit and a love for all children she will truly be missed.❤️
heartfelt prayers to the family and friends who loved Our precious
Angel Seph May the Good Lord watch over all of us as we reflect on the beautiful of my beautiful
Friend . Until we meet again!! I will never
Forget you God Bless you all! Your friend
I was heart broken to hear the news of your passing. You were such an amazing woman. I will always cherish the time we spent together and the conversations we shared. You always spoke the truth, never holding back. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones, especially the children. They say God only takes the best. I guess he thought your work on earth here was done. Rest in Heaven my beautiful friend!
My deepest heart felt condolences to the House family. I went through elementary school with Seph and remember her so we’ll. The very first time I was ever in the 2nd Baptist Church was as a young girl invited by Seph. Seph did so many worthy and wonderful things in her life and meant so much to do many. She will be missed. She is dwelling in her Master’s heavenly Kingdom.
Seph and I went to WHS all thru school Seph made me laugh! Saw her at Walmart and I remember her saying is that you Bill,Seph had a sense make one laugh no matter what,I am so sorry about her death but I shall always remember her humor I just hope her family is comforted knowing her humor touched so many God Bless Bill
I’m so saddened to hear of Seph’s passing. I worked with her at Bank One for many years. She made going to work fun. She was always pulling pranks on us and made us laugh all the time. She will be dearly missed by all. My thoughts and prayers go out to her entire family.
I’ve known Seph for years & always referred to her as “Auntie Seph”, I remember her hugs, her smile and her soft voice.. Her untimely passing brings a lot of memories… God has definitely called another beautiful Angel home.. Prayers to Ms Ernie & family for continued comfort during this time.
My condolences to the family. I enjoyed our conversations and she checked on me even when I moved away to college. She was so sweet.
Such a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and smile! She will truly be missed. Condolences and prayers for the family.
Seph was a great person, funny and full of generosity! She fostered several youth I worked with over the years and I always enjoyed talking to her and visiting her home. Opening your home to others takes an amazing spirit and Seph definitely had plenty of that. She will be deeply missed.
Darion and family we are sorry for your loss. Seph was a sweet person. Deb, Terry, Jon, Jeremiah Miller
My deepest condolences to the family. I didn’t know Seph personally but heard about her love and passion for her family and friends and her commitment to so many foster children. She’s a woman to be admired and the world was lucky to have her. Seph left a legacy that I know you are all proud of. Sending prayers for peace and healing.
My deepest condolences to Seph’s entire family. I worked with Seph over 30 years ago at Bank One. She was always smiling and had a kind word for everyone. She will be truly missed.
Deepest sympathy to the family and friends. Seph was my neighbor when I lived on North street and was always such a pleasure to talk to. She was indeed a very caring parent both to her own children and those she fostered. She will be deeply missed.
My condolences to Seph’s family, and loved ones. Seph was a beautiful soul, who helped everyone she could. It was an honor to have known her. Rest In Perfect Peace. You will be greatly missed.
I was so saddened to discover Seph had passed and even more so that I discovered the news through Facebook, but Facebook has become my primary method of contact for my friends and family as I’m still stuck in Kansas. I grew up next to the House family in Madisonburg when I was a child. I reconnected with Seph about 10 or 11 years ago when I moved back to Wooster and always enjoyed running into her at local Wooster stores. Here’s what I posted on her FB page: “A physical light has gone out in Wooster, but the Light of her soul will shine forever. I grew up next to the House family and reconnected with Seph a decade ago. I heard her voice when I was signing in to work as a paraprofessional at Cornerstone and turned to say, “OMGoodness…Seph House.” She looked at me and said, “Do I know you?” I just grinned and said, “You sure do…or at least you did when I was a kid.” Once I told her who I was she grinned back and gave me the biggest “Momma bear” hug…ever! She was one of the warmest and kindest people I ever knew. Grace to all her family and loved ones during your time of grieving. You will be missed Seph! xoxoxo”
I was saddened to discover that Seph had passed and even more so through Facebook but Facebook has become my primary source of contact for my family and friends as I’m still stuck in Kansas and haven’t been back to Wooster since I left in Jan. of 2017. I grew up next to the House family in Madisonburg during the 70’s. I reconnected with Seph about 10 or 11 years ago when I literally bumped into her while signing in to work at Cornerstone as a paraprofessional. Here is what I posted on FB on Saturday: “A physical light has gone out in Wooster, but the Light of her soul will shine forever. I grew up next to the House family and reconnected with Seph a decade ago. I heard her voice when I was signing in to work as a paraprofessional at Cornerstone and turned to say, “OMGoodness…Seph House.” She looked at me and said, “Do I know you?” I just grinned and said, “You sure do…or at least you did when I was a kid.” Once I told her who I was she grinned back and gave me the biggest “Momma bear” hug…ever. She was one of the warmest and kindest people I ever knew. Grace to all her family and loved ones during your time of grieving. You will be missed Seph! xoxoxo”
May the lord grant you strength and comfort during this time. I’m so sorry for your loss.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, so sorry for your loss, always in my prayers, she was a very sweet person, will deeply be missed
Patty, Simone and Zandrea Family
I was saddened to learn of Seph’s passing. I worked with her at Bank One many years ago. Seph had such a warm and caring personality and a great sense of humor. She touched so many lives. She will be terribly missed.
Taken too soon…Rest in peace my friend.
Ernie, I am so sorry about your huge loss. It’s getting difficult getting around so that is why I’m leaving my condolences here. I think about you from time to time especially when we went to see Cats. I will be praying for you for healing during this most difficult time. Many hugs.
Bonnie
To the family you have my deepest sympathy and prayers. You will always be in my prayers. To God be the glory
Sephs parents I mean this from bottom of my heart,my birth defect had to be redone freshman year, Seph took it on to help,might be small but Seph was very dear to me cause of her kindest,years later Seph and I both saw each other laugh. Might be not seem much but it meant world to me. God Bless Sephs family
Sending our love and condolences to the family !
I am so sorry to hear this news. My prayers are with the family and friends. I knew Seph as a child. My sister and I would go down the street to the “House house” and play with the kids. Later in life she became a foster parent for my nephews. They loved her and she loved them back like her own. She was kind and welcoming to me when I would ask her to visit the boys. She was a cornerstone of the Wooster community and her loss will be felt by many. God speed and thank you for caring Seph!
Seph,
You were always a joy to see. Your bright smile and positive attitude will always be remembered.
What a wonderful person .Glad I got to know the family through the years.May God continue to bless you .
Love never dies.
I just wanted to pass along my last time I saw Seph. To back track I am part of the Leathers-Brady house that lived across from you on Wilson Road. I never lived there but they were my siblings so coming up to the house I had met Seph who was in and out of the house as much as any other of the kids. Fast forward to thirteen years ago my brother Mike was in the hospital in Cleveland and he passed away while there. One night when I was at Mikes house on North Street Seph came out of her house because she saw activity at Mikes house. As soon as she walked up to me I knew who she was. She asked how Mike was and I told her that he had passed away. She told me how sorry she was and told me that I needed a hug. Boy could Seph hug. For a few moments I never wanted to let go. She cried I cried. Now I wish I could hug all of you as she hugged me. But realize we all are being hugged by her now and can feel the love that she gave. God Bless all the House family and thank you for loaning her to us to know even for a short time.