Obituary for Eugene (Gene) Rissanen

Eugene (Gene) Rissanen, 77, of Westerville, passed away on September 15, 2023 after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson's disease.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 20, 1946 to Eugene and Lucille Rissanen.  Shortly afterward, his family moved to the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. He graduated from Holy Name High School in Escanaba, Michigan and was chosen scholar-athlete of his senior class.

He earned six varsity letters, while participating in football, basketball and track.  He earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University, a Master's in electrical engineering from Columbia University, and a PhD in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University.  

He was employed at Bell Labs for 26 years, where he earned three patents in the area of speech technology and signal detection.

He is survived by his wife Carol, Daughter Amy (George) Stringer, Holly (Mike) Ross and five grandsons, Kyle, Will and Collin Stringer; and Nicholas and Brandon Ross, and his two sisters, Mary Zimmel, Marquette, MI., and Peggy (Joe) Jameson, Albuquerque, NM.

His family suggests anyone wishing to make a memorial contribution in his memory to please consider the Parkinson's Foundation