John Thaddeus “Thad” Seeberger, loving son, brother, uncle, and friend to many, left this world suddenly on August 1, 2021, at the age of 54.

Thad was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on October 27, 1966, to John and Pat Seeberger of Madison, Virginia. Thad considered himself a Madison native, spending his childhood with his three siblings, Kristin of Baltimore, Maryland, Scott of Bluemont, Virginia, and Michael of Afton, Minnesota on Middle River Retreat and Deep Run Farm. He graduated from Madison County High School in 1984 and went on to earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree from Germanna Community College. In 1989, Thad graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Electrical Engineering.

Thad was a “pinball wizard” in life, both literally and figuratively, as he pursued his passions with vigor and electrical prowess. He developed a penchant for “fixing” things often to the exasperation of his parents and siblings, dismantling toasters, an old TV, VCRs—anything with an electronic interior that needed fixing—restoring them to their original functional luster.

These early experiences led the way for his engineering career, starting as an engineer at Sperry Marine in Charlottesville, Virginia. He worked at Newport News Shipbuilding supporting nuclear safety testing on aircraft carriers under refueling and construction. Subsequently, Thad worked for the Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Virginia designing control systems for the nuclear accelerator located at this facility. He worked for Booze Allen Hamilton supporting the Navy at Dahlgren, Virginia, working on projects involving directed energy technology. Here he received an award from the Navy for his work on non-lethal weapon systems. At Dahlgren, Thad also worked on projects sponsored by the Naval Air Systems Command, which led to employment at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in their Cyber Warfare Department at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 

Thad’s fascination with fixing things, as well as playing the “silver ball,” was life-long. He collected and restored vintage pinball and game machines, creating a word-of-mouth side business of his machines in arcades in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Thad’s other loves included building circuit boards for games, restoring a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser, raising his border collies, and raising honeybees. His electronics expertise and strong passion to help others also led him to design and build a circuit board for a camera to screen the eyes of premature babies. He was the friend that many would reach out to for a helping hand, always generous with his knowledge and time, showing up with a smile and his dog, Luna, by his side.

Thad leaves behind family and many friends who loved him deeply, including Kaitlin Carey, Garrett Preston, Meghan Seeberger, Sarah Seeberger, Rachel Seeberger, Ryan Seeberger, Lisa Seeberger, Patrick Seeberger, Cullen Seeberger, and Judy Seeberger.

A service to honor Thad’s life will be held on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at Preddy Funeral Home in Madison. A family visitation will be held from 10 until 11 a.m., with a service at 11 a.m. A private burial will be held.