James Hope Bissland III

1937 - 2020

(News story) BOWLING GREEN - James Hope Bissland III, a longtime journalism and public relations professor at Bowling Green State University who published a number of history and academic writings, died Oct. 14 at Brookdale Bowling Green. He was 83.

He had had bladder cancer, wife Joan Bissland said, but she attributed his death to old age.

Mr. Bissland taught at BGSU from 1976 to 1996, serving for a time as chairman of the journalism department and as interim director of the School of Media and Communications. Before he taught at BGSU, he was an instructor at the University of Iowa, from which he received his doctorate in mass communications.

He "liked the milieu" of being a professor, Mrs. Bissland said. "He was the professor type."

He brought real-world experience to the classroom. For a time, he worked as either a reporter or copy editor at the Burlington Free Press, Providence Journal, and Worcester Telegram & Gazette, all in New England. After his journalism career, he worked as a public information officer, then as director of publications at Rhode Island College.

Terry Rentner, a professor in the communications school, was a graduate student at BGSU with Mr. Bissland as her adviser. It was in large part because of him, she said, that she was hired at the university after she graduated, and he was a guiding force during her career which eventually led to a full professorship.

"He was my mentor," she said.

Mr. Blissfield's focus as a professor was on public relations, drilling strong writing into his students, and teaching how to run a public relations campaign. He taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses.

"He would definitely connect the work that you would read about in the textbook to very applied skills," Ms. Rentner said.

He had an intellect that could intimidate some students, but he was encouraging, never demeaning, who took a personal interest in students and cared about them as people.

Mr. Bissland was born Aug. 5, 1937 in Springfield, Mass., to James, Jr., and Elsie Bissland.

While his career was in trades that focused on the present, Mr. Bissland was a longtime history buff, with a particular focus on the Civil War. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University and a master's in American history from the University of Massachusetts.

He and his wife met in college, and were married soon afterward in 1959.

He wrote books such as 'Blood, Tears, and Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War' and 'Bountiful Ohio: Good Food and Stories from Where the Heartland Begins.' He also ran his own publishing company, Gabriel's Horn Publishing Co., from 1981 to 1994 in Bowling Green.

Ms. Rentner said Mr. Bissland could switch between concise, scholarly writing in journal articles to vivid, descriptive prose in his books.

"He had the two very diverse writing styles: the academic side of him and the kind of writing that would appeal to the general public," she said.

He frequently spoke at area groups about history and the Civil War, in part to sell books, but "he was more interested in talking about it with [people]," Joan Bissland said.

In retirement, Mr. Bissland volunteered as a court appointed special advocate-guardian ad litem for the Wood County Juvenile Court, something from which he took great enjoyment and satisfaction, his wife said.

He is survived by his wife, Joan; daughters, Sarah Breithaupt and Betsy Hope; son, Andrew, and four grandchildren.

A graveside funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green, and an outdoor reception will immediately follow.