Dr. Ralph A. Tesseneer, Jr.
Dr. Ralph Athen Tesseneer, Jr. of Campbellsville, KY, son of the late Ralph Athen Tesseneer, Sr. and Susan Geneva Kirkland Tesseneer, was born in Russellville, AL, on April 23, 1924. He died at 5 a.m., on Sunday, October 11, 2015, at his home at the age of 91.
Dr. Tesseneer spent his high school and early college years in Murray, KY. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific Theater. On May 5, 1946, he married Laura Mae Fisher of Earlington, KY and together they raised three children. Their lives together were spent in the areas of higher education and community involvement.
Dr. Tesseneer earned a B.A. in Psychology from Tufts College, an M.A. in Educational Administration and Psychology from Peabody College, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Louisiana State University. Dr. Tesseneer was a psychology professor at Western Kentucky State College, McNeese State College, Murray State University (where he was also Dean of the Graduate School), Northern Kentucky University (where he was also Vice-President, Interim President and President of the Foundation) University of Durham in Durham, England (as a visiting professor), and Campbellsville University (where he was also Vice President for Development).
Ralph Tesseneer was the recipient of multiple academic and community awards and recognitions. He was a life-long Baptist and served as a deacon, and in other leadership positions, in several churches. He was a devoted Rotarian and the president of several Rotary clubs. He was a Rotary District Governor in Kentucky. Dr. Tesseneer was a counseling psychologist in mental health clinics in communities where he lived; he was also a frequent public speaker and an educational consultant. He was visionary in his thinking and warm and caring in his interactions with everyone he met.
Ralph Tesseneer is survived by daughter, Susan Tesseneer Walters and husband, Joe, of Campbellsville, KY, son, Ralph Athen Tesseneer, III, M.D. and wife, Beverly, of Spartanburg, SC, Herbert Hoffman Tesseneer and wife, Gale, of Florence, KY; three grandchildren: John Athen Tesseneer of Spartanburg, SC, Neely Tesseneer Benton and husband, Brad, of Moorhead, MN, and Davaajargal Dorjsuren of Ulan Bator, Mongolia and Campbellsville, KY; two great grandsons: Thomas Athen Benton and John William Benton. He is also survived by two sisters: Myra Jean Tesseneer Cooper and husband John, of Texarkana, TX, and Susan Tesseneer-Pope and husband Ken, of Campbellsville, KY. He was preceded in death by a brother: Gerald Ware Tesseneer, and a grandson, Ralph Joseph Walters.
VISITATION: 5:00 -8:00 P.M., Tuesday, October 13, 2015, Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home
FUNERAL: 1:00 P.M., Wednesday, October 14, 2015, Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home with burial in Brookside Cemetery
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made to: The Ralph and Laura Tesseneer Scholarship Fund at Campbellsville University, Gideon’s International, or Hosparus of Central Kentucky. Memorial gifts can be sent to Parrott-Ramsey Funeral Home for distribution: 418 Lebanon Ave., Campbellsville, KY 42718.
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