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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=George Dean Tessier, Sr. | office=Louisiana State Representative<br> for the 14th Ward of New Orleans | party=Democratic Pa..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=George Dean Tessier, Sr.
| office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative<br> for the 14th Ward of [[New Orleans]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1948
| term_end=1962
| succeeded=Charles Smither
| office2=Louisiana State Senator for Orleans Parish
| term_start2=1962
| term_end2=1968
| preceded2=Robert A. Ainsworth, Jr.
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| birth_date=May 7, 1912
| birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana
| alma_mater=Woodberry Forest Prepatoy School (Orange, [[Virginia]])
[[Tulane University]]
| residence=New Orleans, Louisiana
| death_date=September 27, 1967 (aged 55)
| death_place=New Orleans, Louisiana
| resting_place=Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
| occupation=[[Insurance]] agent
| spouse=Althea Oma Lennox Tessier (married 1940-67, his death)
| children=George Tessier, Jr.
Mark Andrew Tessier, Sr. (deceased)
'''Parents''':<br>
Charles Andrew, Jr., and Ruth Ophelia Jurgens Tessier}}
'''George Dean Tessier, Sr. (May 7, 1912 – September 27, 1967), represented the 14th Ward of his native [[New Orleans]] in the [[Louisiana]] House of Representatives from 1948 to 1962<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024 (Orleans Parish)|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref> and the state Senate from 1962 to 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana Senate, 1880 - Present (Orleans Parish)|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
Tessier was the son of Charles Andrew Tessier, Jr. (1884-1933), and the former Ruth Ophelia Jurgens (1883-1948). In 1940, he married Althea Oma Lennox (1917-2014). The couple had two sons, George, Jr. (born 1943) and Mark Andrew, Sr. (1947- 2011).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?pid=170968830|title=Althea Tessier obituary|publisher=''The New Orleans Advocate''|date=May 9, 2014|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/mark-tessier-obituary?pid=178660337|title=Mark Tessier obituary|publisher=Legacy.com|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
Tessier was educated in New Orleans elementary schools until sent to Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Orange, [[Virginia]]. He attended [[Tulane University]] and the Tulane Law School, was president of his freshman law class but soon forced by family financial difficulties to drop out of law school in 1936.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Tessier, George Dean, Sr.|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
At the Woodberry School, he was an all-state [[football]] player in 1931, 1933, and 1934. He was the heavyweight [[wrestling]] champion in 1932 for the Southern Amateur Athletic Union. In 1934, he was named an All-American football player. He lettered in football, wrestling, and [[boxing]] at Tulane University; participated in the first Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans in 1935. He earned his livelihood as a notary public and
insurance solicitor and was employed from 1936 to 1941 by the Gillis-Winkler Insurance Agency.<ref name=lahist/>
Called to military service in [[World War II]], he served briefly as chief boatswain’s mate of the [[United States Coast Guard]] but then transferred to the [[United States Navy]] with the rank of ensign, with service from 1942 to 1945. He was overseas for one year and discharged with the rank of first lieutenant.<ref name=lahist/>
As a state representative, Tessier was a vocal opponent of his fellow [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]'s populist legislative programs. In 1958, midway in Long's last term as governor, Tessier was named by the Capital Correspondents’ Association as "Louisiana’s outstanding state representative." He resigned from the House in 1962 to serve until 1968 in the state Senate. He was active in the environmentalist [[Sierra Club]], the Pickwick Club, and the Southern Yacht Club. He was a member of the [[Roman Catholic]] men's organization the [[Knight of Columbus]] and a volunteer for [[United Way]].<ref name=lahist/>
Tessier died in New Orleans at the age of fifty-five and is interred there at Metairie Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159879615/george-dean-tessier|title=George Dean Tessier|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tessier, George}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Football]]
| name=George Dean Tessier, Sr.
| office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative<br> for the 14th Ward of [[New Orleans]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1948
| term_end=1962
| succeeded=Charles Smither
| office2=Louisiana State Senator for Orleans Parish
| term_start2=1962
| term_end2=1968
| preceded2=Robert A. Ainsworth, Jr.
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| birth_date=May 7, 1912
| birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana
| alma_mater=Woodberry Forest Prepatoy School (Orange, [[Virginia]])
[[Tulane University]]
| residence=New Orleans, Louisiana
| death_date=September 27, 1967 (aged 55)
| death_place=New Orleans, Louisiana
| resting_place=Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
| occupation=[[Insurance]] agent
| spouse=Althea Oma Lennox Tessier (married 1940-67, his death)
| children=George Tessier, Jr.
Mark Andrew Tessier, Sr. (deceased)
'''Parents''':<br>
Charles Andrew, Jr., and Ruth Ophelia Jurgens Tessier}}
'''George Dean Tessier, Sr. (May 7, 1912 – September 27, 1967), represented the 14th Ward of his native [[New Orleans]] in the [[Louisiana]] House of Representatives from 1948 to 1962<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024 (Orleans Parish)|publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref> and the state Senate from 1962 to 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana Senate, 1880 - Present (Orleans Parish)|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
Tessier was the son of Charles Andrew Tessier, Jr. (1884-1933), and the former Ruth Ophelia Jurgens (1883-1948). In 1940, he married Althea Oma Lennox (1917-2014). The couple had two sons, George, Jr. (born 1943) and Mark Andrew, Sr. (1947- 2011).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obits.nola.com/obituaries/nola/obituary.aspx?pid=170968830|title=Althea Tessier obituary|publisher=''The New Orleans Advocate''|date=May 9, 2014|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/mark-tessier-obituary?pid=178660337|title=Mark Tessier obituary|publisher=Legacy.com|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
Tessier was educated in New Orleans elementary schools until sent to Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Orange, [[Virginia]]. He attended [[Tulane University]] and the Tulane Law School, was president of his freshman law class but soon forced by family financial difficulties to drop out of law school in 1936.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Tessier, George Dean, Sr.|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
At the Woodberry School, he was an all-state [[football]] player in 1931, 1933, and 1934. He was the heavyweight [[wrestling]] champion in 1932 for the Southern Amateur Athletic Union. In 1934, he was named an All-American football player. He lettered in football, wrestling, and [[boxing]] at Tulane University; participated in the first Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans in 1935. He earned his livelihood as a notary public and
insurance solicitor and was employed from 1936 to 1941 by the Gillis-Winkler Insurance Agency.<ref name=lahist/>
Called to military service in [[World War II]], he served briefly as chief boatswain’s mate of the [[United States Coast Guard]] but then transferred to the [[United States Navy]] with the rank of ensign, with service from 1942 to 1945. He was overseas for one year and discharged with the rank of first lieutenant.<ref name=lahist/>
As a state representative, Tessier was a vocal opponent of his fellow [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]'s populist legislative programs. In 1958, midway in Long's last term as governor, Tessier was named by the Capital Correspondents’ Association as "Louisiana’s outstanding state representative." He resigned from the House in 1962 to serve until 1968 in the state Senate. He was active in the environmentalist [[Sierra Club]], the Pickwick Club, and the Southern Yacht Club. He was a member of the [[Roman Catholic]] men's organization the [[Knight of Columbus]] and a volunteer for [[United Way]].<ref name=lahist/>
Tessier died in New Orleans at the age of fifty-five and is interred there at Metairie Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159879615/george-dean-tessier|title=George Dean Tessier|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tessier, George}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Football]]