Jane Kessler, 84

01/15/2008

MONTEREY - Jane Kessler, 84, a resident of Odd Fellows Home in Auburn, Maine, and formerly of Monterey, died Jan. 15, 2008, at Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice after a brief illness. Born in Evanston, Ill., on June 7, 1923, the daughter of Ralph Sargent and of Elise Hodges Sargent Connor, she graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, received her master's degree from New York University and, in 1958, her doctorate in education from Harvard University. She and her husband, Hans Kessler, lived Dakar Senegal for three years, moving to New York City in 1957. They moved permanently to their Monterey summer home when he retired in 1981. After his death, Mrs. Kessler moved to Buckland, Maine, to be near her daughter Elise Wiley. A gifted science teacher, Mrs. Kessler taught at Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y., at Brearley School in New York City and at St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's School in New York City, from which she retired in 1978. She and her husband enjoyed walks in the woods, botany, music, history, art and travel. They were active members of Union Church in Tyringham, where they ran a vacation Bible school program. Later, they were members of Christ Church in Canaan, Conn. Mrs. Kessel volunteered at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, guiding schoolchildren on field trips to the its Wildlife Sanctuary and assisting in the development of a wetlands curriculum for use in the classroom. She also was a volunteer at St. Mary's school in Lee and active teaching home-schooled children from the Union Church. For a time, she ran a needlepoint store and gave lessons out of her home. She was an active member of the Embroiders' Guild. In Buckland, she was a member of the Buckfield Community Church and volunteered at the Odd Fellows Home of Maine for several years before moving into the residence in 2005. Her husband, whom she married in Tangier, Morocco, in Oct. 1954, died in 1997. Besides her daughter and son-in-law, Elise and John Wiley of Buckfield, she leaves another daughter, Dorothea Dickey and her husband, Zachary, of Lake Dallas, Texas; two grandchildren, James and Elise Dickey of Lake Dallas; a nephew, Karl Kessler and wife, Ann, and their daughter Johanna of Ridgefield, Conn., and a niece, Dottie Kessler of Bristol, Conn. FUNERAL NOTICE - A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. at Buckfield Community Church in Maine. Family and friends will be received at the church immediately after the service. A graveside service is planned for the spring in Monterey. Finnerty and Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington is handling the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to make donations in her memory may do so to the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs Home of Maine or Hospice House Fund, Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice through the funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com/

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Jane Kessler, 84

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