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Janet Mulligan 1966 Janet Mulligan Janet Mulligan Today
Janet Mulligan 1966   Today
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About Janet: After high school, Janet attended Concordia, Seward for one and a half years before deciding this was not what she wanted to do. She returned home and got a job at the Bank of the Commonwealth. In the spring of 1968 she became engaged to David Tessmann who was serving as a vicar at St. Johns, Fraser. In May 1969, he graduated from the seminary, they married in June and moved to Dothan, Alabama where they began their married life together. They have three children:

  • MAJ(P) Jonathan Tessmann, who is now at Ft.Knox, Kentucky. He and his wife, LTC Nicole (who is deployed to Afghanistan), have one child, Taylor (3).
  • Kimberly Tessmann, who lives with Janet and Dave in Gibsonville, North Carolina, for medical reasons.
  • James Tessmann, who lives in Austin, Texas. He and his wife, Sasha, have three children, Teal (5), Maryanna (4), and Rory (3).

From 1969-1972 they lived in Dothan, Alabama and from 1972-1975 they lived in Blytheville, Arkansas. In 1975, David went on active duty in the Army Chaplaincy and they began their Army life, moving to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas. In 1977, Dave went to Korea for a year and Janet moved to Clarksville, Tennessee. In 1978, they moved to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii for three and a half years, then to Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey for 6 months while Dave attended the Chaplain's Advance Course. In 1982 they moved to Ft. Carson, Colorado. In 1985, Dave was chosen for a year of advanced schooling and they moved back to New Jersey, where Dave went to Princeton Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Theology Degree in Homiletics. They returned to Ft. Monmouth were Dave was on the US Army Chaplain Center and School faculty. In 1990, they moved to Mannheim, Germany. In June 1993 they returned to the States and moved to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. In 1996 Dave retired from the Army and accepted a call to Peace Lutheran Church in Texas City, Texas. After nine years he decided to slow down a bit. He retired from full-time ministry, and they moved to Burlington, North Carolina to serve Redeemer Lutheran part-time and volunteer as Police Chaplain in Burlington.

Over the years as Janet followed Dave around, she volunteered as a Girl Scout leader and trainer, and volunteered at Army Community Services, teaching classes to enlisted wives, managing an Officers' Wives Club Thrift Shop, and working as an Installation Volunteer Coordinator and an Installation Family Services Coordinator. In Germany, she also volunteered at the USO Reception Center for troops coming from, and going to, Desert Storm. Now Dave and Janet volunteer with Meals-On-Wheels and at a fhrift store that provides financial support for a non-profit hospice home, and she serves as the Vice President for Christian Life for the Carolinas District of the LWML. She tries to keep time available to visit their four grandchildren.

In her spare time, Janet loves to sew, quilt, read, do stained glass and travel.

Message to Classmates: I have loved my life and hope that all of you get a chance to see the wonderful world we live in and see the wonders of God's creation.

This page was last updated on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.