Ronald A. Pursell, 83, of State College, died March 17, 2014 at St. Louis, MO.
Born on December 7, 1930 in the Village of Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County, PA., he was a son of the late Austin and Edna Templeton Pursell.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Clifford Pursell of Mesa, AZ ; two sisters, Dorothy Woolf of Milford, NJ. and Erma Javes of Murfreeboro, TN.
On June 4, 1971 he married Mary Helen Boyd, who preceded him in death on March 25, 2006.
Ronald is survived by a sister Marilyn Bigley of Milford, NJ. and Bruce and Martha Allen of St. Louis, MO.
He was a graduate of Frenchtown High School in Frenchtown, NJ, and a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, earning both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Botany in 1952 and 1954, respectively. In 1957, he graduated from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL with a PhD in Botanical Science.
Dr. Pursell taught one year at the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO and one year at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. In 1959, he returned to Penn State, teaching Botany for four years in the Forestry School at Mont Alto before coming to the main campus at University Park. He retired after thirty-three years of service as a Professor Emeritus of Botany in December, 1991. At the time of his death Ronald was a Research Associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO.
A funeral service will be held 1:00 PM, Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at Mark D. Heintzelman Funeral and Cremation Services, 1034 Benner Pike, State College. Interment will follow in Centre County Memorial Park.

A guest book can be signed or condolences sent to the family at www.heintzelmanfuneralhome.com