James Richard Gessner, 83, of Lecanto, FL and Duluth, MN, died Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at Vitas Hospice House in Lecanto. He was born May 13, 1938 in Duluth to Lester and Helen Viola “Vi” (Johnson) Gessner. A 1956 graduate of Duluth East High School, he continued his education at UW/Madison, graduating with a Bachelor of Administration in 1960. Jim served his country in the Army Infantry during the Berlin Crisis. His basic training in infantry training began in September 1960 at Fort Leonard Wood, MS, followed by officer training at Fort Benning, GA. He was then stationed at Fort Lewis, WA as a 2nd Lt. in Counter- Intelligence. Jim started his career in insurance with the Aetna Insurance Company in Aurora, IL. Wanting to get back to the Northland he returned to Duluth and began working for Dunning & Dunning, and later at Korkki Gessner (1968-1988) which was the predecessor to ISA Insurance, of which he was President until its merger with Otis-Magie Insurance.
Stark Community Foundation elects new Board chair and vice chair
The Repository
CANTON – The Board of Directors of Stark Community Foundation has elected Nancy Varian as its new chair, elected Bill Cook as vice chair and announced three new members: Tonja Marshall, Andrea Perry and Todd E. Pugh.
Varian has served on the Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2008, is a member of the personnel vommittee and most recently served as vice chair. She serves as a faculty member and director of the Center for Professional Development at Malone University. She and her husband, Reed, along with their immediate family, operate Varian Orchards, their family’s 325-acre farm in East Canton.