Herve J.R. Tessier

Herve J.R. Tessier . 95 died peacefully at his north Phoenix home on Saturday, October 25, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife Eva (Ducharme) Tessier and by seven siblings.
Born in Woonsocket R.I. he was a son of the late Frederick and Valeda (Lagace) Tessier. Herve was the youngest of their eight children earning their nickname ‘Babe’. Though he was disadvantaged by the early death of his father when he was five -he had the support of his mother and older siblings and became a good student. He attended Mount St Charles Academy and achieved fluency in French.
With the Korean conflict underway in the early 1950s, Herve decided to volunteer for the military service. He served honorably in the 175th MP battalion of the 7th US Army. He was posted to West Germany.
Upon the end of his service, he enrolled at the University of Rhode Island on the GI Bill working toward a degree in Electrical Engineering. He married Eva and they started their family while living frugally in married student housing. Herve liked to boast that he made the honor roll in college while caring for three babies – as if it wasn’t Eva doing most of the caring.
Upon graduation he was hired by General Electric. He worked for GE for 12 years a period which featured some interesting travel and challenging assignments. He worked on missile defense systems in Syracuse NY. He worked on radar monitoring of the Caribbean and Panama Canal airspace in Trinidad where his fourth child Paula was born. His next assignment was Wiesbaden Germany where he worked on new radar arrays to monitor airspace over Germany. The family moved back to the US settling in Topsfield, MA where Herve worked on GE’s fuel cell for the Gemini space program. Herve’s work on fuel cell testing and quality control involved working directly with the Gemini astronauts. GE did not retain the fuel cell contract for the Apollo program so Herve and the family were on the move again. He moved the family to Phoenix where his youngest son Ron was born. A relentless roamer, Herve came to love Arizona where he remained the final 60 years of his life.
Herve’s work for GE’s main frame computer division left him restless. In 1968 at the age of 38 he made a bold career pivot leaving GE to become a financial planner and stock broker. He started as a rep with the Phoenix office of the California firm Independent Securities. After getting some training and earning his licenses his entrepreneurial bug kicked in. He went out on his own gaining a clientele for retirement planning and wealth management.
Eventually this led to founding HJ Tessier & Company which by the early 1980s was the largest independent brokerage firm in Arizona with about 50 employees and full or part-time reps. Herve was a sponsor and general partner of real estate limited partnerships of shopping centers, mobile home parks, apartments, and residential or industrial land. His company grew with accounting and property management to support the syndications.
The financial landscape changed with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and tax-sheltered partnerships and syndications were out of vogue. Herve downsized his firm shedding his office at 44th and Camelback moving to modest space in north Phoenix. As he approached retirement, he focused on winding down his remaining partnerships and servicing clients.
By the time he reached his nineties Herve was experiencing profound hearing loss and was more reclusive. He liked to monitor his stocks and tend his garden always it seemed trying to optimize his sprinklers. His deafness did not deter him from telling his favorite stories. He especially enjoyed visits by his Phoenix area relatives – niece Joan Paquin and nephew Ernie Tessier who would pop in regularly and indulge Herve in his story telling,
He leaves a son Stephen Tessier of Cranberry Twp, PA, a daughter Paula Tessier of Bridgton ME, a daughter Debra Tessier, a son James Tessier, and son Ronald Tessier of Phoenix.
He also leaves five grandchildren Christian, Lucy, Claire, Theodore and Isabelle and three great-grandchildren, Beau, Jack and Patrick.
There will be an entombment ceremony on Monday Nov 24th 2pm at the National Memorial Cemetery at 2929 E Pinnacle Peak Road where his ashes will be interred. A celebration of life is being planned for Spring 2026 with date and time to be determined.
In lieu of flowers the family suggest a donation to one of Herve’s favorite charities:
https://www.bgcaz.org Boys and Girls Club of the Valley
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

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