Lexemuel Ray Hesler was a noted expert in mycology, former Professor, and Chairman of the Botany Department and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at the University of Tennessee. Hesler was born February 20, 1888 on a farm near Veedersburg, Indiana. He was the second of two sons of Clinton F. and Laura Iris (Youngblood) Hesler. He studied plant pathology at Cornell University, earning his PhD in 1914. He stayed at Cornell as a fellow and later professor until 1919 when he accepted the appointment as Professor and Head of the Department of Botany at the University of Tennessee. In addition to teaching and administrating, Hesler remained an active researcher and member of several professional organizations and societies. In 1914, Hesler married Esther Lillian Collins (1891-1982). Hesler passed away on November 20, 1977.

Roberta "Bobbie Lou" Akin Scull was born October 2, 1940 in Columbus, Georgia to Robert Louis and Olive Creekmore Akin (1917-2016). Roberta moved with her family to Knoxville, Tenn. following World War II. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in 1962 and her master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1969. She married Herbert Meyer "Bo" Scull Jr. (1940-2008) in 1963, and together they had two children.