Agatha Sellin

April 24,1930 - Sept. 23, 2019 Los Gatos

Agatha Sellin (Weststrate), known as Ake to her friends and family, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2019. Born in 1930 in the Netherlands, Ake grew up in an intellectual environment that had a passion for social service. Ake’s life continued to follow this trajectory. Ake’s teen years were spent in the country during the German Occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She and three of her four sisters were smuggled out of Amsterdam in garbage trucks in order to be out of harm’s way and have enough to eat. Ake was sent on her own to be a “mother’s helper” on a farm during these years.

When Ake returned to Amsterdam, she completed her high school and college career, receiving a doctorate in Social Psychology Sciences from the University of Amsterdam. During her fellowship year at the University of Chicago, she met and later married Paul Sellin, a doctorate student at that time. She and Paul worked for a short while in Chicago until moving to Los Angeles when Paul took a job with UCLA as an English Literature professor.

Ake spent the first part of her marriage focused on family. Later, she started a Marriage Family and Child therapy practice with a specialty treating abused children. She was a tireless traveler, even going into the jungles of Venezuela twice in her 70’s to accompany Paul for book research. She particularly liked trips where you could learn something new, experience art, hike to a great view, do some camping or visit the desert. She was also an accomplished athlete and musician. She played volleyball for the Dutch National team in her early twenties, loved tennis, winning trophies regularly, and participated with a variety of orchestras and chamber music groups. She spent many weekends playing quartets and quintets with friends.

Ake leaves behind her son Mark and wife Shawna, her daughter Christine, her daughter Britt and husband Tom, her two surviving sisters Ans and Rita, as well as her beloved grandchildren: Nathaniel, Evin, Jenette, Hannah and Drew. She is preceded in death by her husband, Paul Sellin.

A memorial service will be held at the Los Gatos Episcopal Church on October 26 at 10am. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity. Ake would have wanted it that way.