Dr. Wesley Allen Kissel

Wesley Allen Kissel, M.D. passed away on April 1, 2022. He was born in San Diego on November 29, 1927 to Ethel (Trimm) and Norman Kissel. Wesley enjoyed exploring Balboa Park, attending movies for 10 cents, and sailing in San Diego Bay with friends. He excelled at piano, but chose academics, graduating with a degree from Stanford University in psychology followed by a medical degree from Stanford Medical School. Soon after arriving at the University of Rochester for an internship, he met Mary Wendelboe, who had recently graduated from U of R as a nurse. They married July 3, 1954 and remained so until Mary’s death on February 22, 2021.

Following a stint in the U.S. Air Force in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he counseled veterans from the Korean War, Wesley and Mary settled in Indianapolis. After a residency with I.U. Medical Center, Dr. Kissel set up a psychiatry practice which he continued until 1985. He then moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he became the Medical Director at South Central Medical Health Centers (now Centerstone). Dr. Kissel was a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. A deeply religious man, he became a member of the Organists Guild and enjoyed playing at church services. Wesley also enjoyed boating, hiking, travelling and playing bridge with Mary (both being Life Masters). Always up for a challenge, Wesley learned how to fly a plane and flew the family to Washington D.C. for an Easter vacation.

Wesley will be greatly missed by his son Steven (Cathy) and daughters Virginia Miele, Margaret (David) Gohn, and Carolyn Kissel, fourteen grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Day & Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home, 4150 E Third St, Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 11:00 am. Friends may visit one hour before in the funeral home.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com for the Kissel family.