Richard (Dick) Winfield Gessner, Founder of MCTV, Passes Away at 90
MASSILLON, Ohio (July 18, 2018) – Richard (Dick) Winfield Gessner, founder of Massillon Cable TV, passed away today at his home in Massillon, Ohio with his loving wife of 67 years by his side.
Born June 30, 1928, Dick was a 1950 graduate of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. He and his wife Susan founded Massillon Cable TV (now MCTV) in 1965. Prior to cable TV, Dick worked in radio and television in Philadelphia and New York, including a brief stint as a page at NBC. His first cable TV experience was obtaining franchises in upstate New York, helping the late Paul Harron, Sr. launch Harron Communications’ first cable systems. Recognized as a Cable Pioneer, Dick was one of the founders of the Ohio Cable Television Association and served as Chairman of the Community Antenna Television Association.
“MCTV was very special to my Dad. Actually, it was the people at MCTV who were so special to him. He gave so much of his time and energy to the company,” states his son Robert Gessner, President of MCTV. “It is hard to understand the impact he had on the company, the industry and so many people and the community at large.”
MCTV will continue to operate as a family business, now managed by second-and third-generation family members.
Funeral details are available at the Paquelet Funeral Home website: http://www.paquelet.com/obituary.
In lieu of flowers, the family will appreciate memorial contributions to the Massillon Museum Capital Campaign (121 Lincoln Way E, Massillon, OH 44646).
About MCTV: MCTV “goes the extra smile” for its customers, adding high-touch service to high-tech telecommunications. Since 1965, MCTV’s 165+ local employees have been serving their neighbors with a full complement of advanced broadband products for home and business, including High-Speed Internet, Digital TV, Phone, television advertising, dedicated fiber optic connections and security systems. Approximately 50,000 homes and businesses in Stark, Wayne, Summit, Holmes, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson and Tuscarawas Counties rely on MCTV for their telecommunications needs.
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