Dr. Richard Benjamin Schlessel

July 15, 1928 - Nov. 13, 2019

Dr. Richard Benjamin “Dick” Schlessel, 91, of Oklahoma City, passed away peacefully after a brief illness Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. He was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 15, 1928.

He willed his body to the University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine. There will be a remembrance service at a later date to honor his memory.

He worked as a child and adult Psychiatrist for over 40 years in Philadelphia, PA. He won the New York State reading award and was awarded a scholarship to Cornell University, where he graduated. He went to Medical School at the University of Freiburg, interned at Bridgeport Hospital, completed his residency at Temple University Hospital and completed a Fellowship at the Child Study Center and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

Born in Brooklyn, NY on July 15, 1928, Dr. Schlessel was a son of the late Dr. Louis Schlessel and Sarah Shannock Schlessel, who arrived as children in the USA in the early 1900s. They referred to their eldest son fondly as “Beanstalk.”

He is survived by his wife, Eileen Schlessel; daughter, Diane Lotfy, her husband Ibrahim and their son, Aladdin; daughter, Paula Morrow, her husband Stephen and their three sons, Dylan, Colin, and Carey; and future daughters-in-law, Nyssa and Anna Marie. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Theodore Schlessel and his wife Corrine and their children: nephews, Elliot and Joshua; and nieces, Wendy and Julie.

He loved to read newspapers and encyclopedias, especially. He will be remembered by his four grandsons for an excellent game of chess!