Dale F. Tessmer

MADISON - Dale F. Tessmer, at 84, passed away on Thursday Oct. 6, 2016 in Madison, WI. He was born on May 25, 1932 in Wausau, WI to the late Paul Otto and Kathryn (Newman) Tessmer. Dale married Kathleen Myszewski on August 16, 1958. Dale proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 - 1955 as a Staff Sergeant. During the Korean War, Dale was stationed at the Far East Command Headquarters in Tokyo. He was selected to serve in the Honor Guard at General Ridgeway's Change of Command. He was a graduate of University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, and also did graduate studies and seminars at UW-Milwaukee, UW Stout, University of Michigan, and Purdue University. Dale had a remarkable knack for numbers and worked in a number of capacities over the years including High School teacher of Business Education, Port Washington, WI; Accounting Teacher, Adult Vocational School, Port Washington, WI (part-time); private corporation accounting and income tax work, Port Washington, WI (part-time); and Finance Administrator, Deputy Director, and Interim District Director at Western Wisconsin Technical Institute/College. After a brief "retirement" he worked for a number of years as a...[more]

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dministrator at Madison Area Technical College and for the Wisconsin Foundation for Technical Colleges. Dale was an active volunteer as a Lector at Cathedral Parish, served on the Festival of Arts Board, and the Board of Education for Cathedral School in La Crosse, WI. Dale spent his entire professional career in education as a teacher, an administrator, and a consultant. Even after retirement he always looked forward to the school year starting. He took pleasure in asking young people what they were studying and how they enjoyed their classes. He loved gardening and was blessed with a green thumb. He was always the one to rescue sickly plants and nurse them back to health. Dale was known to relax in his large and beautiful gardens, of both vegetables and flowers, which he would preside over with a can of Special Export in hand. Dale had a fondness for dogs. His special favorite was his ever-faithful Border Collie, Tipper who was his companion for 13 years. In retirement, Dale and Kathy enjoyed extensive travel together. They visited Europe many times, toured Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, China, and transited the Panama Canal. They were with Bucky Badger for the 1998 Rose Bowl and joined him for a game in Hawaii. Dale's last trip with Kathy was a cruise across the Pacific Ocean to Japan where they toured places where Dale had served in the Air Force some 55 years earlier. Dale was ahead of his time in encouraging Kathy to study for advanced degrees and supporting her career. He backed her choice of studying and working in different cities and they commuted, seeing each other on weekends, for 12 of the 58 years they were married. During this time, Dale gladly took on the day-to-day challenges of raising a young daughter through adulthood, balancing his work while forming a close and playful bond with her. Dale was a devoted son, husband, dad, grandfather and great grandfather. He was reliable, responsible, dependable, and even-tempered. He was the "Go-to-Guy" who took care of everything and everybody. Dale is survived by his wife, Kathleen "Kathy" of Madison, WI; son, Paul Tessmer (Sue Kloes), Sun Prairie, WI; daughter, Julie Tessmer (Sam Robinson), Madison, WI; daughter, Nancy Belmont, Alexandria, VA; grandchildren: Alex Tessmer (Olivia), Kaitlyn Tessmer, Theodore Belmont, Benjamin Belmont, Tessmer Belmont; great grandson, Nicholas Tessmer; sister, Phyllis Henneman, Merrill, WI; nephews, Gary Henneman (Gloria), Hamburg, WI and Wayne Henneman (Suzanne), Antioch, IL; and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Harold. A memorial service will be held at 12:00 Noon on Saturday Oct. 29, 2016 at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Rd, Madison, WI. A visitation will be from 11:00 AM until the service at the funeral home on Saturday. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, WI. At the time of his retirement from Western Technical College, a scholarship was established in his name. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be given to the Dale F. Tessmer Scholarship, Western Technical College Foundation, 400 7th St. North, La Crosse, WI 54601. The family wishes to offer special thanks to the dedicated staff of Oak Ridge Living. These fine people provided tremendous love and caring for Dale for the final five years of his life. The family would also like to express their appreciation to the wonderful people of Agrace Hospice. Cress Funeral and Cremation Service 3610 Speedway Road Madison 608-238-3434