Richard Alan Fee

We are sad to announce the passing of Richard Alan Fee. Amateur chef and photographer, avid animal lover, private pilot, and retired University of Louisville Professor, Richard's love of life didn't come to an end with his death. He passed away peacefully, in his sleep, on June 10, 2023, at the age of 75, after a battle with Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia, with his daughters by his side and holding his hand. Missie Fee-Diaz, who ardently followed in her father's footsteps, earning her PhD last year, and Jacki Carlson who embodies and is the epitome of the wild and free spirit will continue to honor their father's legacy by living their lives to the fullest. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Zoe, Heath, and Jaxsen, and his siblings, Cheri Shumaker, Judge Bill Fee, and Susie Zimmer, and one too many wives. He is preceded in death by his parents, William B. and Charlotte Fee, and his nephew, Riley Zimmer.Richard was born in Coldwater, MI, on April 7, 1948. He graduated from Angola High School, Class of '66; followed by Purdue University, Class of '71, BS degree; Ball State University, Class of '74, MA degree; and earned his PhD from the University of Maryland, in 1977. He moved to Kentucky in 1978 and spent a long and fulfilling career at the University of Louisville, from 1978-2014, with roles including the Chair of the Health Sciences Department, Director of the Psychophysiology Research Lab, Professor Emeritus, and Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Richard also taught at the University of Maryland from 1974-1977, Ball State University from 1973-1974, and Hamilton High School from 1971-1973. The Psychophysiology Laboratory was where Richard began a line of investigation into human stress responses and the efficacy of methods of management of human stress. Richard's Psychophysiology Lab was the first such lab in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The activities of the Lab became the basis for local, regional, national, and international scholarly presentations and publications. They also were the focus of newspaper and magazine articles as well as radio and television interviews. The Lab also became a training ground for Masters and Doctoral students from UofL and from other institutions of higher learning (and a lesser known fact, as a favorite mid-day napping spot of his daughter's). Richard made scholarly presentations in Caracas, Venezuela, Heidelberg, Germany, Toronto, Canada, Leningrad, U.S.S.R, Thessalonica, Greece, New Orleans, and San Diego during his tenure at UofL. In 2012, Richard won the Outstanding Alumni Award 2012, Department of Physiology and Health Science, from Ball State University.Some of his unique accomplishments included running marathons, triathlons, and making it through fatherhood with 3 girls. Richard was proud of his early career, teaching at the same high school where his father taught. His fatherhood role, which he navigated with a calm temperament and the utmost patience, also included raising his 2 step-children, Julia Smith and her brother. He enjoyed many hobbies including cooking, photography, running, traveling, making wine, horses, and bible study. Those who knew him well were familiar with his "Fee-late syndrome" (or always being late) and his ever willingness to engage in conversation and offer a lecture on a subject at hand. He was kind and had a gentle spirit that will be missed.Richard's friends, Dr. Bryant Stamford, Dr. William Weinberg, and Andree Mondor, supported him for many years, becoming as close as family and were present with Richard and his family, offering comfort and strength, at the end. Although Richard spent his final days in the hospital, he was surrounded by his friends and family, and the laughter of his three daughters as they told story after story, by his bedside. Maybe he hung on just a little while longer to listen to his girls.A Memorial Service will be held in Cherokee Park, at Hogan's Fountain, on Wednesday, June 21, at 7:00pm. A celebration of life is to follow (date and time TBD) which will be held in Angola, IN, where he will be laid to rest with his parents.