Inge was born in Ludwigshaven, Germany, the second daughter of Samuel Kokotek and Hannah Englender. During the rise of Nazism, Inge and her older sister Elsa escaped from Germany and were sheltered in the Rothschild School in France. They were to never again see their Father, Step-Mother, Step Brother, and Uncle. Later, they immigrated to the United States and settled in Texas.
In 1961, she married William Barnett Kessler, later giving birth to daughter Stephanie and son Mark. They moved from Dallas, Texas and settled in Florida, first in Orlando then Deltona.
Inge will always be remembered for her calm and easy charm. She was so easy to get along with that she had a nice long conversation with the former President of Israel and his wife before realizing who they were!
Inge’s passions were movies and travel, easily obtaining more than anyone could imagine. She had stated that she only had three goals left in life; visit Las Vegas, Alaska, and Israel. Her eyes never stopped looking at the slot machines, she enjoyed the view of Alaska by ship, and Inge rubbed elbows with some pretty famous people in Israel.
Inge is survived by her husband, Bill Kessler, sister, Elsa Abramson, daughter Captain Stephanie Leung, and son Mark Kessler. She has four grandchildren.
If you have any additional stories or corrections to the above, please leave your comments below. Arrangements are being made and will be published at a later date.
A sunset Memorial funeral service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, 2 November 2006 at Deltona Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetary, 1295 Saxon Blvd, Orange City, FL 32763. (386) 775-4260 As is Jewish custom, flowers should not be sent. Inge’s favorite charities are the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Minyan – A memorial service led by Rabbi Amy Perlin of Temple B’nai Shalom was held at the Leung residence in Fairfax Station on Monday, 6 November 2006. Mark listened in on teleconference.
Inge’s Orlando Sentinel Obituary
Mark and Stephanie’s Eulogies are shown below, just click the “Read the rest of the story” link:
My Mom – Mark Kessler
My Mom will be best remembered in many ways to me. She was loving, strong, and supportive to both my sister and me as well as my Dad, Bill.
Several things stand out in my mind about my mother. I’ll never forget how caring she was. She was always by my side when I was a child with asthma and then later with my epilepsy. She always told me she wished she could take my pain away weather it was something big or small. Mom if you can hear me now, I want you to know I wish I could have taken away the pain you went through over the years. I hope I was a comfort to you the same way you were a comfort to me. I always tried to be the kind of son you wanted me to grow up to be.
My mother was a very strong person. While growing up she had some hardships as a child as well as an adult. She and her sister Elsa were some of the lucky people who were survivors of the Holocaust. She also struggled over a year with her recovery when she was in traction after being hit by an eighteen wheeler truck.
My mother was always supportive. She never missed one of my tennis games when I was growing up and in college. I know she was proud and felt the joy I felt when I won, she also felt the pain when I lost.
Another memory I have is watching All in The Family with her. In a way she reminded me of Edith Bunker. She would also call my dad when dinner was ready yelling, “Wiiillllee come eat, dinner is on the table!†Another way she was like Edith is that she was the back-bone of our family. My dad traveled during the week with work but Mom was always there keeping things together.
In conclusion mom, I wanted to tell you something that maybe I didn’t say enough. “I Love You! You were the best mom anyone could ever ask for. You will be greatly missed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 thoughts on “Inge Kokotek Kessler 1932-2006”
Dear Victor:
I was sorry to hear of the passing of Inge and thank you for your message.
There is one thing I would like to add to the memory piece. As best I recall, one of the Rothchilds was a friend of my wife’s father, Mr. Jacobs. One day, Mr. Jacobs received a call that they needed to place a couple of little girls to stay for a few days until they found a home for them. The girls had been in Fort Worth with a relative, but it was not working out because the relative had some health problems and could not care for them indefinitely.
He asked Mr. Jacobs if he could leave the girls with he and his wife for a few days. He, of course, said yes. The girls came from Fort Worth to Dallas that day and stayed with Helen’s parents until they finished their schooling and married. That is the home that Inge and Elsa grew up in and always referred to Helen’s parents as Uncle Les and Aunt Helen.
This was during World War II, as I remember. I was a Special Agent in the FBI and Inge followed me around whenever I was there, which was often. Helen’s parents used to say that while their son was away in the Marines, it left a void in their lives that these girls went a long way to fill.
I don’t know if this is of any interest to anyone, but since you asked for additional comments, I thought I would furnish this.
Please pass along my sincere condolences on the loss of this lovely woman.
Regards,
Bob
Thanks for the information. As sad as it was it was wonderful that the Jacobs took them and gave them a home.