Lynn L. Pesson

Retired LSU vice chancellor and Professor Emeritus Dr. Lynn L. Pesson died Thursday, March 10, 2011, at Ollie Steele Burden Manor. He was 83, a resident of Baton Rouge and a native of New Iberia. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St., on Sunday, March 13, was from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visiting at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 2025 Stuart St., on Monday, March 14, from 9 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., celebrated by the Rev. Gerald Burns. Entombment in St. George Catholic Church Mausoleum. Dr. Pesson received his master's degree from the University of Maryland and his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from LSU, where he served for 39 years. His service with the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service began as an assistant county agent in St. Mary Parish, moving to the state office in Baton Rouge and serving as training specialist and project leader in programs and training. In 1974, he was appointed assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs, then vice chancellor for administration and in 1987 retired from LSU as vice chancellor for student affairs. Throughout his career he did consulting work in agricultural development, building agricultural and educational systems in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa. Upon his retirement from LSU, he served as executive director of the board for International Food and Agricultural Development in Washington, D.C. Upon his return to Louisiana in 1990, he served as president of CSLA Inc., a nonprofit consortium of 57 colleges and universities in the Gulf South devoted to international development. He served on the board of trustees of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System for eight years. He did part-time work for the Franciscan Sisters and the FMOL Health System, focusing on the development of an archives and the writing of a history of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Louisiana. He was a founding member of St. Aloysius parish, serving as a Eucharistic minister and administering to the homebound at Our Lady of the Lake, St. James Place and Southside Gardens. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Earline Boudreaux Pesson; a daughter, Abbie Wiler and her husband, Jim; two sons, Russell Pesson, his wife, JoAnna Tubb Pesson, and their children, Louis Pesson, James Pesson and Rebekah Pesson, and Dr. Charles Pesson, his wife, Karen Korn Pesson, and their daughters, Kara Pesson and Kelly Pesson. Also surviving are two sisters, Suzanne Bourgeois and her husband, Huey, and Joan Kraker and her husband, Jack. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Pesson Jr. and Maude Broussard Pesson; a brother, Ray Pesson; and a sister, Marion Pesson. Our thanks to the staff at Ollie Steele Burden Manor. Special thanks to Mamie Beverly for her loving care. Pallbearers will be James Smith, Dr. Denver Loupe, Stanley Lamendola, Dr. C.J. Naquin, Jack Kraker and Huey Bourgeois. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Edward Gassie, Robert Nicolle, Harold Menard, Dr. Paul Murrill and Dr. William Holden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Aloysius Catholic Church or the LSU 4-H Foundation, P.O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894.