For customers who were financially strapped, James J. Sellen would often defer his fees or waive them altogether, even after spending hours making repairs to their heating or cooling systems. “His main concern was in helping people out and getting their problems fixed,” said his wife, Mary. “He probably gave away more business than he should have but that’s just the way he was.” Mr. Sellen, 77, of Oswego, former owner of a heating and cooling controls company whose favorite pastime was serving as a volunteer children’s coach, died from complications following knee surgery Sunday, Jan. 25, in Mercy Center in Aurora. Born in Aurora, Mr. Sellen was a graduate of West Aurora High School, where he was a member of the football team. For several years, he also played for the Aurora Clippers, a semipro football team. “Back then, football was his life,” his wife said. “He lived and breathed it every day.” Trained as a temperature control technician, Mr. Sellen worked for many years at Johnson’s Controls in Aurora before starting his own business. In the late 1980s, he founded Quality Temperature Controls in Aurora, a company that specialized in repairs of heating and cooling controls. He closed the business four years ago. “Thermostats were his thing, and he knew just about everything about them,” his wife said. While raising his family, Mr. Sellen also volunteered as a football coach at Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Peter Grade Schools, both in Aurora. More recently, he was an official at sporting events for the Illinois High School Association. “Sports for him was a way of connecting with young kids,” his wife said. “He enjoyed working with them and having a positive impact on their lives.” For many years, Mr. Sellen donated his expertise and time to Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, of which he was a member, and to Marmion Abbey in Aurora. “When they’d call, he’d stop whatever he was doing and go over to take a look,” his wife said. “He always made himself available no matter what.” A resident of Oswego for the last seven years, Mr. Sellen built his dream home along the Fox River, on a site family members described as “where he’d only have to look out his window to enjoy nature all year long.” “One of the things he loved most was relaxing in his chair and staring outdoors, while listening to the sounds of his family,” his wife said. Mr. Sellen was a longtime member of the Third Ward Club and Knights of Columbus. Other survivors include two sons, John and Peter; three daughters, Mary Kay, Betty, and Rita M. Artlip; six grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in The Healy Chapel, 332 W. Downer Pl., Aurora. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday in Our Lady of Good Counsel, 601 Talma St., Aurora.
