Todd TESSIER

Todd Tessier 1963-2005

Todd E. Tessier, age 42, of Yankton, South Dakota died Saturday, December 10, 2005, in a single vehicle accident north of Yankton.

A memorial service will be at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, 2005, at the Yankton High School Gymnasium with the Reverend Dean Trapp officiating.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Yankton.

Pallbearers are his nieces and nephews: Michael Koupal, Mandy Koupal, Michele Koupal, Luke Lansman, Seth Lansman, Trey Lansman, Will Lansman, Dawn Hansen, Dustin Tolsma, Steven Koupal and Jessica Koupal. Honorary pallbearers are the Yankton School Coaching Staff, Sophomore Boys’ Basketball Team and all of Todd's Horse Friends.

Todd was born August 2, 1963, in Huron, South Dakota to Darwin and LaVila (Hanson) Tessier. He graduated from Pierre High School in 1981 and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from South Dakota State University in Brookings in 1986. He then began teaching and coaching at Bon Homme High School where he met his future wife, Suzanne Koupal. They were united in marriage on August 22, 1987, in Dante, South Dakota. After teaching in Bon Homme for three years, he taught middle school and high school science in Yankton from the fall of 1989 to the present. The past three summers Todd worked with the Corps of Engineers on the Endangered Species Project. He coached middle school boys' and girls' basketball, sophomore boys' and girls' basketball and high school track. He also coached his daughter's soccer and basketball teams. His love of horses flowed over to his daughters as they spent countless hours training for 4-H horse shows, barrel racing and trail rides.

As a member of First United Methodist Church, Todd served on many committees and led the youth opening exercises. He participated in the Chancel Choir and was a member of the Barber Shop Chorus with his dad. He was also a member of YEA, SDEA, NEA, the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association, the National Basketball Coaches Association and the Yankton County Planning Commission. He was a member of the NBHA, the Bold Heart Barrel Racing Association, and was recently elected to the South Dakota 4-H Horse Council. Todd was selected as a member of the 1996 Outstanding Young Men of America and was listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. In 2005, he won the Yankton Press & Dakotan People's Choice Award for Outstanding Coach and was presented with the Don Baker Award from Yankton High School.

He will be remembered for his zest for life, whether playing the piano, cards, a pickup game of basketball, riding horses or water skiing, Todd gave it his all. His generosity and loyalty will live on forever in the hearts of all who knew him.

Survivors include his wife, Suzanne and two daughters, Morgan and Madason, all of Yankton; parents, Darwin and LaVila Tessier of Yankton; sister and brother-in-law, Tara and Howard Lansman of Harlan, Iowa; 11 nieces and nephews; and many relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Todd Tessier Memorial Scholarship Fund at Yankton High School.

December 13, 2005

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Todd est l'arrière petit-fils de Alfere(Alfred) Tessier et Alta Chapman, 

cultivateurs de la paroisse de Burritt, aux Illinois, en 1880. 
Alfere et Alta, leurs 2 garçons(Blair et Caude), 
et leurs 2 filles(Céleste et Eva),sont recensés à Watertown, 
dans le Dakota-du-Sud, en  1920.

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