November 28, 2023
Paige Haehlke
Katharine Q. Seelye ’71 authors Rosalynn Carter New York Times obit
Katharine Q. Seelye ’71, pioneering online political writer and current obituary writer at The New York Times, wrote Rosalynn Carter’s obituary for the newspaper.
The obituary details Rosalynn’s life, her marriage to President Jimmy Carter, their climb up the political ladder from the Georgia State Senate to the White House, and their wide-reaching activism work afterward.
Now based in Boston, Seelye has worked as a reporter for The New York Times for 28 years. She served as the New England bureau chief for 10 years and has covered national news and politics since starting at the paper. Additionally, she initiated and led the newspaper’s online coverage of politics and became their first online political writer in 2007.
For six presidential campaigns, she rode along on the media bus. A recognized journalist, she has reported on many notable events in the New England area, including the opioid epidemic and the Boston Marathon bombing.
While at Lake Forest College working toward her English degree, Seelye was part of the Stentor, the College’s student newspaper. One of the oldest organizations on campus, the first issue was published during the 1886-87 academic year.
Seelye went on to receive an MS in journalism from Columbia University.