Dr. Richard Dressler

Published 12:01 pm Friday, December 11, 2020

Bowling Green – Dr. Richard Dressler, 68, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, peacefully passed away on December 8, 2020, surrounded by his family. Most people knew him as Dick, Dr.D, Dickie, Popeye, and even his self-proclaimed “Rad Dad” (due to his initials).

Richard was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He was an avid St. Louis and Missouri sports fan and was a hobbyist with many passions. His biggest passions included his loving wife, children, and his recent favorites, his grandchildren. He was ardent about his career as a professor and most recently his role as Chair of Communications Disorders at Western Kentucky University. He had great admiration for the students he taught. Richard had a profound love for travel and truly immersed himself, along with his wife, in the cultures of their destinations. His hobbies included sailing, politics, philanthropy, technology and his favorite – his wife’s cooking. These passions define someone who loved life and all the joys it had to offer and one of his favorite sayings was, “I love the life I live.”

Richard was loved by so many for his approach to life and he shared his light with everyone he encountered. His students described him as “truly one of the best” and their outpouring of love has been a bright light for his family.

Dr. Richard Dressler had numerous contributions to the Speech Pathology community including serving on the Kentucky Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and authoring of the Language Activity Resource Kit (LARK), LARK Workbook, and co-authoring of the LARK Software program.

Richard truly lived life to its fullest and invested his energy into education and truly impacting the lives of those he met. People will remember Dr. Richard Dressler for his humorous, charismatic character which he never wavered from in any situation. It is most important to the family that his love of life carries on.

Richard is lovingly remembered by his wife, Christine Dressler; children, Shaina (Daniel) Smith, Jada (Conner) Mowles, and Danny Dressler, Lindsey Osborne (Andy Williams), and Christian (Melissa) Osborne; grandchildren, Quade, Eleigh, Talon, Mina, Talia, and Clarke; and brother, Boyd (Paula) Dressler. Richard is preceded in death by his parents Harold Dressler and Jane Ruth Dressler.

Due to COVID, there will be a small private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the American Red Cross. If you would like to share a story or comments about Dr. Richard Dressler, please go to www.callnfc.com.