Larry Lee Ressler, III
1996 – 2022
Larry Lee Ressler, III was born in Overland Park, Kansas on April 30, 1996 to Drs. Larry and Gina Ressler. He was born at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Larry, or Lee as his family always called him, was a big-hearted and tender soul who loved his family dearly, always trying to help out in any way that he could. His selflessness was not reserved just for his family, but was extended to anyone that he perceived might need a helping hand. Larry Lee was taken home by his Creator, Lord and Savior on April 19, 2022, just 11 days shy of his 26th birthday.
Larry Lee attended Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Edmond, OK, which is where his gift for running was first discovered. That gift being the ability to run fast, and to run far. That talent took him all over the State of Oklahoma, racing 30 or more weekends a year throughout grade school and middle school where he won literally hundreds of races in his age brackets. He then attended Bishop McGuiness Catholic High School in Oklahoma City where he ran Varsity Cross Country all 4 years, earning All-State Honors. He also ran Varsity track where he would be called upon to run the 1 mile, 2 mile, and usually an 800-meter leg of a relay. Lee's years on the road racing circuit resulted in multiple Oklahoma state records, including individual age records for the half-marathon at age 13 (1:22:18), age 14 (1:18:35) and age 15 (1:18:26). He also set Oklahoma state records at 8000 meters for age 13 (28:27) and age 14 (27:28). To this day, all of the records that he set are still standing.
Larry graduated from Edmond Memorial High School in the Spring of 2014. During his senior year of high school he made the difficult decision to stop running competitively and that he would not be attending college. He had learned to weld during his senior year and spent his first year after high school making a living as a welder. In December of 2014 his mother had a serious stroke and she spent 6 weeks in the hospital. It was during this difficult time that Lee came to the realization that he wanted to go to college and then nursing school. He enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in Edmond, OK and began working on his prerequisites for nursing school. He then applied to, and was accepted to the nursing program at UCO, considered by most to be the most competitive and prestigious BSN program in the state of Oklahoma. While going to nursing school Larry worked as a nurse aid at the OU Edmond Hospital. Larry proudly graduated with his Bachelors of Science in Nursing in the fall of 2020, and after passing his NCLEX exam for his RN, accepted a position as an Emergency Room Nurse at the OU Edmond Emergency Department. Lee last worked for a staffing agency that specialized in providing nursing staff for prisons, where he so enjoyed being able to serve those souls that he felt were truly in need of loving and compassionate medical care.
Larry is survived by his father and mother, Drs. Larry and Gina Ressler, older sister Gillian Aquino, RN, BSN and her husband Matthew, younger brother Logan Ressler, nephew Olliver Ressler (Logan) and grandmother Jessie Ressler.
A wake, followed by a public Rosary will be held at Matthews Funeral Home on April 29th 2022, beginning at 6:00PM.
Services will be held Saturday, April 30th 2022, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church beginning at 10:00AM.
We will be live streaming this service in an effort to accommodate those people that wish to attend but are not able to do so. To watch the service please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ohQcPTpv0