Friends, Family Remember 'Gentle Giant'

Remembrances shared Thursday from family and friends of Scott Warren Sellman at his funeral in Santa Ana showed that his well-documented love for animals was more than matched in life by his devotion to his two-legged companions.

A "gentle giant" who was "larger than life," Sellman died at age 42 last Thursday, apparently of a heart attack, in the office of the dog-friendly Milo's Café, the Lake Forest restaurant he opened in March.

The Rev. Ronny Rowell, a cousin to Sellman by marriage, officiated the ceremony.

Five close friends and relatives addressed the grieving audience in Waverly Chapel at Fairhaven Memorial Park, sharing memories of a man described as honest, honorable and—above all—a champion for the underdog.

His passion for helping those who needed it, whether human or canine, stemmed from strength earned through Sellman's own personal struggles, speakers said.

"How can I help," could have been Sellman's motto, said his longtime friend Jonathan Taylor.

In Lake Forest, .

A friend of more than a decade, and the chiropractor for the lifelong athlete, Sean Milan said he and Sellman became "Angels buddies." Together, they wreaked playful havoc in the stands at baseball games, making friends all around.

Sellman's nephew Greyson Peltier said Sellman was a "like a father" to him. "He loved me and I definitely loved him," the teenager said.

Greg Rowe, who has been friends with Sellman since they met as young boys playing in a sandbox, drew laughter from the teary crowd when he said Sellman, a weightlifter, became so muscular from all the times he helped Rowe up when he needed a boost in life.

Sellman, born in Orange in 1968, would have turned 43 this July.

He was buried in Fairhaven Memorial Park following the ceremony.

Family and friends walked behind the hearse as it rolled slowly to Sellman's final destination.

Following the service, attendees drove back to Lake Forest for a reception held, appropriately enough, at the place where Sellman had poured out so much of his heart and soul—Milo's Café.

Lake Forest City Councilman Scott Voigts, a close friend of Sellman's, presented his family with a certificate from state Assemblyman Don Wagner recognizing Sellman's passing.