Obituary of H. Alfred "Al" Bessin

<b>Lexington, Kentucky</b> Al was born August 3, 1931, in Tbingen, Germany, son of Alfred Julius Bernhard Wilhelm Bessin and Ingeborg Magdalena Blohm de Bessin. Al was the oldest of five children and is survived by his sister Helga Wise. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, and children, Al, Rob, Ric, and Sylvia (Flachsbart), nine grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. He grew up in Hamburg, Germany during WWII and suffered great deprivations with his family during the war. In 1947 he moved to Venezuela with his younger brother, George, later reunited with his mother, father, brother Rolf and Sisters Inga, and Helga in 1949. He attended high school in Caracas, Venezuela, graduating from American High School. Al came to the US in 1951 to attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD and graduated in two years with a BA in Biology. He met Yvonne Siebert at a dance at Goucher College in 1951. He returned to Venezuela in 1952, and married Yvonne on April 18, 1953 at the American Church in Caracas, Venezuela, on the same month and day his parents married. He worked for 10 years in Venezuela for Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. After saving for ten years, he returned to the US in 1962 for graduate school and to provide educational and economic opportunities for his children. He earned his MBA from Stanford in 1964 and became a US citizen in 1966 in Oakland, CA. Al worked as a high level Personnel/International Relations manager at McKinsey, Kaiser Industries, and Systron Donner, retiring from business as a senior Vice President at Castle Cooke (DOLE). He made 17 corporate moves in the US and Latin America with his family and traveled extensively with his work. Al retired and created Laurel Oaks Farm with his wife in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC in 1989, creating from scratch a huge working sheep farm from an old mining property. Retired again, he moved to Lexington, KY, in June of 2012 to be closer to his son Ric and family. Al was fluent in German, Spanish, and English, conversational in Italian, French, and Dutch, and learned Greek and Latin in school. He was always health conscious, a lifetime member of the Fitness and Jogging Association, jogging over 1000 miles per year for more than 20 years. He loved the "Great Outdoors": hiking, camping with his family, Boy Scouts, gardening, Sunday drives, photography, and traveling. One of his lifelong dreams was to own a sports car. He bought a yellow Fiat 124 Spider in 1976, and a silver Toyota MR2 in 1985. He was a competitive dominoes player, winning often with his boss, Al Reis. While farming, he loved working with his tractor and Woodmizer, building barns and fences, and raising sheep. Al was devoted to his family throughout his life and hosted an international family reunion at Laurel Oaks Farm in 1996. He always had strong faith, was active in his church and made many friends in the community. Morality, honesty, family values, hard work, and ethics were extremely important to him throughout his life. Al had a tremendous sense of humor, wit, charm, and respect for others. Al Bessin passed away peacefully surrounded by his family, April 25, 2014, in Lexington, KY. <b>Funeral Information</b> A celebration of Al's life will be held at the Clark Legacy Center (859-271-1111), 601 E. Brannon Rd., Nicholasville, KY on Saturday May 3 from 1 to 3pm followed by services at 3pm.