 In 1942 , Seaborg married Helen Griggs , the secretary of physicist Ernest Lawrence . Under wartime pressure , Seaborg had moved to Chicago while engaged to Griggs . When Seaborg returned to accompany Griggs for the journey back to Chicago , friends expected them to marry in Chicago . But , eager to be married , Seaborg and Griggs impulsively got off the train in the town of Caliente , Nevada , for what they thought would be a quick wedding . When they asked for City Hall , they found Caliente had none — they would have to travel 25 miles ( 40 km ) north to Pioche , the county seat . With no car , this was no easy feat , but one of Caliente 's newest deputy sheriffs turned out to be a recent graduate of the Cal Berkeley chemistry department and was more than happy to do a favor for Seaborg . The deputy sheriff arranged for the wedding couple to ride up and back to Pioche in a mail truck . The witnesses at the Seaborg wedding were a clerk and a janitor . Glenn Seaborg and Helen Griggs Seaborg had six children , of whom the first , Peter Glenn Seaborg , died in 1997 . The others were Lynne Seaborg Cobb , David Seaborg , Steve Seaborg , Eric Seaborg , and Dianne Seaborg . 
