From death, renewed purpose

Death has had a way of finding Seidman.

When the Whitehall Township woman, 61, worked for the Lehigh County Juvenile Probation Department, she lost four young clients to drug overdoses. More recently, as a deputy Lehigh County coroner, she has seen death more than the average person, particularly during the pandemic.

But when her mother, Jacqueline Seidman, died Feb. 12, 2022, after contracting COVID while already in poor health, Seidman knew she needed a break.

A few friends of Seidman’s provided that assist with a nearly all-expenses paid trip along the Utah-Arizona border for a weekend hike. She was one of five women chosen nationwide for hiking in the Grand Canyon area.

“The coming together of unknown, unfamiliar people to one another was such an empowering situation,” Seidman recalled. “I just kept saying to myself, I have to figure out how I can give back to the community, how I can reach out and help others.”

She figured it out, forming the Woman of Adventure group. She said it recently received registration as a nonprofit organization, with the status expected to enable the group to obtain grants, corporate sponsorships or private donations.

Catherine Hertzog Nelson, whom Seidman considers to be second in charge, said the two spent three hours last year brainstorming about Seidman’s idea while they were driving on another hiking trip in the West.

“I remember Jackie kept saying, ‘I want to start small. I want to do it slow to make sure we stay true to our mission,’ “she said.