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Larry E. Rissler

 

 

His life was gentle,
  the elements were so mixed in him
  that nature might stand up and declare
            to the whole world, he was a man.”
                                          
   
-Shakespeare

 

     
Born: March 25, 1939   Crofton, Nebraska
Died: July 18, 2009       Wahoo, Nebraska
   
Memorial Service: Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Evangelical Covenant Church
Ceresco, Nebraska

Memorials:


In lieu of flowers,
it is preferred that memorial support be given to brain cancer research or education.

UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program
Dr. Timothy Cloughesy- Director
UCLA Foundation Fund #618930
710 Westwood Plaza, Ste. 1230 RNRC
Los Angeles, CA 90095

University of Nebraska Foundation
c/o Fund # 5650
1010 Lincoln Mall, Ste. 300
Lincoln, NE 68508-2886

Former Agents of the FBI Foundation
3717 Settler Park Dr.
Quantico, VA 22134-1027

   

Larry Rissler was born at home in Crofton, Nebraska on March 25, 1939.  He was the only child of Dwight (Biz) and Olga Rissler.  His father was an attorney in Crofton and his mother was his legal secretary for 50 years.  Larry grew up in that small town with a love of playing baseball, football, basketball, and track, and listening to the Cubs baseball games on the radio.  He also loved walking the fields hunting pheasants in the fall with his Dad and his dog.

 He was graduated from Crofton High School in 1957.  He received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska in 1962, taking a year off to play quarterback for the football team at Norfolk Junior College.   He received his J.D. degree from the UNL College of Law in 1965.

Following college he joined the FBI where his career of 25 years provided a wide variety of experiences.  He began as a Special Agent working cases in Memphis, Nashville, Texarkana, and Dallas.  He enjoyed teaching law at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia for 12 years where his quick wit and intellect made him a favorite among students. His next position was at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he worked as Legislative Counsel in the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs.  In that capacity he worked with the judiciary committees of both houses of Congress and served as liaison to the National Association of Attorneys General.   He was also speechwriter for FBI Director, Judge William Webster. After his retirement from the FBI he was Special Counsel for the Satellite Broadcasting Association in Alexandria, Virginia and then relocated to Los Angeles to serve as Legal Counsel for Worldwide Antipiracy for the Motion Picture Association of America.  He completed his career as Legal Counsel and Vice President of the Office of Signal Integrity for Hughes DirecTV.

He married Anne Swanson on December 27, 1964 in the Ceresco Covenant Church during his senior year in law school.  They have two children, a son Matthew, and a daughter, Jennifer who have been the joy of Larry's life. Both Matt and Jennifer live in the San Francisco Bay area.

Larry had a lifelong passion for playing golf and attending Nebraska Husker football games with his friends and family.  He introduced his father to the game of golf later in life and they enjoyed walking the fairways together. Larry helped to establish the Jerry Steffen memorial golf tournament, which provides scholarships for Crofton High School students. He served as immediate past President of the Palos Verdes Golf Club.

Larry died in his beloved Nebraska on July 18, 2009 following two years of treatment for brain cancer.  He participated in the brain cancer research program at UCLA with the hope that a cure might be found for this devastating disease.  He was blessed with the care of wonderfully dedicated and compassionate doctors.

All who knew Larry will remember his gentle personality, his character and integrity, his quick wit, and sense of humor.  We are all blessed to have shared our lives with this wonderful man.     

A celebration of his life will be held at the Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, CA on August 4 from 5:00-8:00 PM, Reservations: (310) 375-2533.