Dr. Kenneth Paul Dressler, of Manhattan, New York, passed away January 24th, 2020 at the age of 77 years old in New York City. Ken was living with his family in New York City and had been battling Alzheimer’s disease and finally succumbed to the effects of the disease.
Ken was born on November 29, 1942, in Akron, Ohio, to Paul Theodore Dressler, also of Akron, and Virginia Abigail Burchill, from Sault Saint Marie, Michigan. His father was an engineer for the Goodyear Tire Company and his mother was a homemaker and jewelry artisan, who designed and made fine jewelry in her home studio.
He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio for 3 years and then graduated in 1960 from Buchtel High School in Akron. In 1964, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Akron, with a B.S. in Chemistry. In 1966, he completed his Masters in Physical Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. Then he moved to New York City and completed a Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry in 1971 at New York University. He resided in New York City for the rest of his life.
After his studies, he completed postdoctoral training in Pharmacology and Clinical Chemistry at Mount Sinai Hospital and obtained his Certificate of Qualification as a Medical Laboratory Director in New York State. His career in Laboratory Medicine begin in 1974 at Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn as Chief of Biochemistry and then included positions at Woodhull Medical center, National Health Laboratories, New York Blood Center, Corning Clinical Laboratories, Lynbrook Laboratory, and ultimately being an owner and Medical Director of Park Madison Laboratories.
During 1987 to 1990, he served as the Assistant Commissioner of Health for Laboratories in the New York City Department of Health under the Koch and Dinkins administrations and Commissioners of Health Stephen C. Joseph and Woodrow A. Myers Jr.. During his tenure, he was responsible for regulating and overseeing more than 600 laboratories that served the New York area and managed a staff of 130 people at the Bureau of Laboratories.
In 1993, Dr. Dressler founded New York Biologics, a company that provides laboratory derived products for the diagnostics and medical testing industry. He was an owner and President until 2016. From 1998 until 2016, he was an owner and Medical Director for Park Madison Laboratories, Inc., a private laboratory that provided testing for clients throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
Kenneth Dressler was married to Rosalind Brause in 1968 in New York City and they had one son, Timothy Kyle Dressler, who lives in New York City. In 1992, Kenneth married Ivy Fran Winick in Southampton, NY.
Dr. Dressler was a skiing enthusiast and spent many winters skiing in Vermont and competing in Nastar events and National competitions. He also was an avid boater and spent many summers boating in the Peconic Bay area of Southampton, NY. He also loved musical events and frequently attended concerts at Barge Music in Brooklyn or at various local churches and musical venues.
Funeral Services are being held at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan. A wake/viewing will be held Saturday February 1 from 6-8pm and again on Sunday at 11:30am, with Closing Funeral Services beginning at 12:30pm.
He will be greatly missed by everyone who has known him and especially by his grandsons with whom he spent time interacting with everyday. He leaves behind a son, Timothy Kyle Dressler, daughter-in-law Jamille Costa Dressler, and two grandchildren Lucas and Davi, all from New York, NY.
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