Obituary: Dr. Eugene (Gene) Chesson

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Chesson

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Chesson

Dr. Eugene (Gene) Chesson died Jan. 17, 2017, at Las Fuentes Senior Living Community. He was born on his father’s birthday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dec. 1, 1928, to Eugene and Josie Chesson, who were educational missionaries there for the United Methodist Church.

When Gene was 3 years old the family moved back to the United States and settled in North Carolina. Gene grew up in Durham and attended Durham public schools.

Although his parents were well educated, there was little extra money during the Great Depression, so Gene began working at an early age, mowing and trimming lawns at age 10, caddying at a local golf course, and his least-favorite job – plucking chickens for a grocery store. At 16, he worked as a shoe salesman, and in high school as a draftsman for an architectural firm.

Gene worked hard in school, earning a coveted full scholarship to Duke University from the NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer’s Training Corps). He studied civil engineering. He was a member of several national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, a liberal arts honorary. Duke was one of the few universities in the country whose engineering students were eligible for Phi Beta Kappa because of the requirement for extra courses in liberal arts. As a senior, Gene was named Outstanding Midshipman in his NROTC cadet graduating class.

Upon graduation in 1950, Gene served three years active duty in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. He was assigned to Sea Bee Detachment 1509 on the Pacific Island of Kwajalein, where he was Utilities Officer. Fresh out of college, he supervised 120 seasoned enlisted men and 10 chief petty officers, responsible for base steam and power generation and distribution, water distillation and distribution, telephone, fire and crash communication systems, refrigeration and ice equipment, as well as stores and emergency crews for these operations. He said it was the toughest job he ever had. But he always looked out for his men and earned their respect and affection.

After completing his term in the Navy, Gene joined Standard Oil of Indiana as a refinery inspection engineer. In 1953, he relocated to Champaign-Urbana to pursue a master’s and doctorate in civil engineering at the University of Illinois. While there, he met and married his wife of 62 years, Lynn Hershey. He was awarded the Ph.D. in 1959. After several years on the faculty at the University of Illinois, first as assistant professor, then as associate professor, he was offered the chairmanship of the civil engineering department at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. Thus, at the age of 38, he became a full professor and head of his own department. He served nine years in that capacity, during which time civil engineering became the largest engineering department at the university.

Dr. Chesson was active in a number of regional and national engineering societies, and received several awards, including Outstanding Young Faculty Member in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois (in a department with 100 faculty), and an Excellence in Teaching award from the AT&T Foundation. In 1982, he was named the State of Delaware’s Outstanding Engineer of the Year. He was the author or co-author of more than 60 reports and publications in the fields of structural engineering and engineering education. His doctoral research on the strength of steel connections resulted in changes to national building specifications for steel construction, and is cited in civil engineering textbooks.

Dr. Chesson was an invited speaker at conferences and universities. He was a member of a dozen accreditation teams which evaluated the quality of academic engineering programs at universities around the country. He held high security clearance as a member of the National Defense Executive Reserve, a group of professionals trained to take over in case of major attacks on government installations. He was listed in various Who’s Who publications including Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World. He was a registered professional engineer in Illinois, Delaware and Arizona. From 1981 to 1986, he was president of Chesson Engineering, Inc., providing consulting on structural steel design, erection and failures.

In 1986, Dr. Chesson took early retirement from the University of Delaware and was honored with the title of Professor Emeritus. He and his wife relocated to Prescott, Arizona where they built their dream home. They spent a year doing all the interior carpentry themselves, as well as painting and staining, laying two hardwood floors, and building a fireplace. They enjoyed collecting Native American art and decorated their walls with colorful Navajo rugs.

During their married life, Gene and his wife enjoyed traveling the world, with many trips to Europe and South America, as well as Turkey, India, Africa, Iceland and New Zealand.

Gene was a member of several national and regional genealogy societies, serving as president of the Northern Arizona Genealogical Society from 1989 to 1991. He was co-chairman of the society’s computer-user group for five years. He also served as treasurer and project manager for HPR Investors LC, a real estate development group which developed 100 home sites near Sedona, Arizona.

In 2011, Gene and Lynn sold their Prescott home and moved, along with their two cats, into a comfortable apartment in the Las Fuentes retirement community. Throughout their married life they were very fond of cats and had six, the longest living 18 years.

In addition to his parents, Gene was preceded in death by an infant son, Bryan.

Surviving are his wife, Lynn; his brother, Leslie; and his sons, Christopher (Claire) and David; grandchildren, Jason, Ella and Ruby; and great-granddaughter, Layla.

Gene would be pleased with donations in his name to the Yavapai Humane Society, 1625 Sundog Ranch Road, Prescott, AZ 86301.

Information provided by survivors.


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