The death of the founding executive director of the region’s community mental health agency is conjuring positive memories of a local leader whose work impacted many lives.
Fred P. Roessel Jr., who led Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare of Roanoke from 1971, two years after its creation, to 1999, died Dec. 6, according to his son, Fred III. A resident of Roanoke, he was 87. Click here to read the full story.