Montgomery Wayne Seitz 1969-2015

Montgomery Wayne Seitz

July 28, 1969 – August 27, 2015

Our world will have a little less laughter without Montgomery Wayne in it.  Born to Shelia Kay Jenkinson Cooper and Charles Leslie Seitz, Monty bounced through life with unbridled enthusiasm. He grew up as a bright, ambitious boy with a wide circle of friends. He loved sports and played basketball, baseball and football before graduating from Jersey Village High School in 1988.

Monty loved with his whole heart and no one held his heart more tightly than Stephanie Wiley.  They met in 1992 and within a year, Monty and Stephanie shared a name, a home and a son -- Fallon Wayne.  Soon came their wide-eyed beauty, Taylor Wiley and the Seitz family set out for greatness, armed with little more than blind ambition and a few connections in the mattress business.  

They made a great team, and together opened four Capitol Mattress stores throughout Austin. After a decision to make a small town life, they sold the Austin stores and opened All Star Furniture on Hwy. 71 in Bastrop.  Together, Monty and Stephanie spent their days selling beds, telling jokes, carting kids and clinging to their commitment to each other through married life.  

Stephanie held his heart, but it was his kids that fueled Monty’s passion for life.  Every customer that walked through the door heard about Taylor and Fallon.  He coached their childhood basketball teams and as they excelled, he juggled business and family to drive countless hours to watch them play.  He carefully kept every one of Taylor’s newspaper clips featuring her basketball prowess.  Monty was overcome with pride when Fallon recently graduated from UT with honors.  To Monty,  Taylor and Fallon were the best things he had ever done in his life – not the business, not the comedy, not even fighting for his wife's care.  At times, the only thing that made him truly happy was the joy of his wonderfully successful, beautiful and strong children. They will forever be the cornerstone of his legacy. 

A sharp mind and a quick wit, Monty thirsted to know about everything that caught his attention.  His brain never stopped and he generated ideas like an engine generates heat.   He literally believed he could do anything.  Monty saw reality as a minor hindrance to achieving his dream, no matter how ridiculous or pointless that dream looked like to those around him.  He was a dreamer but mostly, Monty was a doer.  He had a grueling work ethic and applied every ounce of persistence to whatever he did from selling bean bag chairs to honing his comedy craft, Monty did everything full force, without apology and without hesitation.  He was a true hustler. He did whatever it took, even it meant doing it ass backward and at the last minute.  Then he quietly got up the next day, hugged the hell out of every bit of luck he had and did it again.  

Monty never had a lot, but he always had enough to share.  He was 420-24/7-365.   He loved watching hours of B-movies, writing screenplays, investigating time travel and eventually, he loved to stand in the spotlight on a dark stage to lay bare everything he feared and fought for just to get a laugh.  

Monty turned to comedy for relief from dark years struggling to accept his wife's tragic injuries after a car accident. .On stage, Monty could be The Outlaw, The Cosmic Cowboy for whom reality didn't exist.  A longtime volunteer for SXSW, the Moondance Festival, ACL and anything else he could talk his way into,  Monty made his stage wherever he went.  Austin Comedy embraced Monty and through that connection he found a new spring of energy.  Comedy saved Monty when he really needed it and knowing that his hope was so far-reaching and impactful to so many, helps to lessen the hard blow of losing him. We're not the same without him,  but he's still with us.  You'll find him floating on a cloud of smoke through the festival crowd, calling Where My Outlaws At?

first draft

The Outlaw Montgomery Wayne

Our world will laugh a little less without Montgomery Wayne in it.  

Monty bounced through life with unbridled, unreasonable joy and enthusiasm. Through his bloodshot eyes, he chose to see opportunity in despair, hope in heartbreak and ferociously believed that love--mixed with laughter--could cure every injury of the heart and heal a broken body. Monty was an idea man; he literally believed that he could do anything, and saw reality as a minor hindrance to achieving his dream no matter how ridiculous or pointless that dream looked like to those around him. 

His dogged devotion to achievement was a happy partner to Monty's unyielding work ethic. He was a hustler and did what he had to do to get it done, even it meant doing it ass backward and at the last minute.  Then he quietly got up the next day, hugged the hell out of every bit of luck he had and did it again. He scraped by, loving the ride, one day at a time. Monty never had a lot, but he always had enough to share if you wanted some.

A sharp mind and a quick wit, Monty thirsted to know about everything that caught his attention.  His brain never stopped looking for new experiences, whether it was moving out on his own at 17, marijuana marathons, studying college textbooks to get a degree by osmosis, watching hours of B-movies, writing screenplays, investigating time travel and eventually standing in the spotlight on a dark stage to lay bare everything he feared and fought for just to get a laugh.

Monty loved with his whole heart and no one held his heart more tightly than Stephanie Wiley.  They met in 1992 and within a year, Monty and Stephanie shared a name, a home and a son -- Fallon Wayne.  Soon came their big-eyed beauty, Taylor Wiley and the Seitz family set out for greatness, armed with little more than blind ambition and a few connections in the mattress business.  They made a great team, and together opened four Capitol Mattress stores throughout Austin. A decision to make a small town life, got out of the big city and opened All Star Furniture on Hwy. 71 in Bastrop.  Together, Monty and Stephanie spent their days selling beds, telling jokes, carting kids and clinging to their commitment to each other to stabilize their rocky ride through married life. 

The Seitz world came crashing down in May 2008 when their car was broadsided and rolled across Hwy. 71 leaving Monty and Fallon with minor injuries, and leaving Stephanie in a profound state of suspension between awareness and emptiness.