Gary Max Lessman, 87, of Knoxville, TN, died at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Sacred Ground Hospice in Knoxville, TN.
Graveside burial services will be conducted on May 13, 2026, at 10 a.m., at Asbury Cemetery in Raymond. Hough-Dean Funeral Home is assisting the family.
Dr. Lessman was born on July 15, 1938, in Hillsboro, to Lester and Verna (Stillahn) Lessman.
As a young man, he helped his dad with field work and raising livestock. He was active in the Raymond Buckeye 4-H Club and FFA in high school, earning many honors in both programs. He graduated from Raymond High School in Raymond in 1956.
Dr. Lessman obtained his bachelor of science degree in agriculture and his master’s degree in plant industry from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He received a doctorate degree in agriculture from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, in 1967. His field of interest was soil science. In 1967, he joined the faculty of Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, as an assistant professor of agronomy. Several years later, he relocated to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, where he spent the remainder of his career in teaching and research, retiring as a professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science, which later became the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science.
He took special pride in his 20 plus years of work with the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair, serving yearly as a judge, many years as a director, a term as president and personally sponsored awards and scholarships. The Fair contained exhibits created by students in grades six through 12, from 26 East Tennessee counties, frequently with 400-500 participants.
Dr. Lessman is survived by extended family throughout the area.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
