Dorothy (Ziegelgruber) Kessner

Our beloved mother, Dorothy Kessner, passed away at her Tell City home on December 15, 2022. She would have been 101 on December 28th.

Dot was born December 28, 1921, the fourth child of Louis and Dora (Schmidt) Ziegelgruber. She was baptized at the Evangelical and Reformed Church (UCC) where she became a faithful and lifelong member. She was active on the church council, in the women’s guild, and as a Sunday School teacher. In that church, on November 2, 1940, she married Edward E. Kessner, a loving union that lasted until Edward’s death in 1964 and cast her as sole breadwinner for seven children.

Dot began her education in a one-room schoolhouse, was graduated from Tell City High School, and received an Associate Degree in Social Work from Indiana Vocational Technical College.

For 43 years, Dot owned and operated Kessner Interiors, an interior decorating and floor covering business in Tell City. In 2013, Kessner Interiors was recognized as the Schweizer Fest Business of the Year. Her earlier positions included seamstress of the Tell City Chair Company where she sewed seat coverings for the gold chairs ordered by Jackie Kennedy, Connor Floor Coverings, Carpets Unlimited, and the Lincoln Hills Development Corporation, where she was with Head Start and assisted youth in job placement. Dot retired in 2016.

Throughout her long and eventful life, Dot was deeply devoted to her family and involved in her community. She served as a poll worker for 30 years and was the first woman elected to the Perry County Council in 1968. She was a 4-H leader for over 60 years; helped establish the women and girls’ softball league; the Council on Aging, the Arts Council, and the Dogwood Festival; and helped found the Crisis Connection where she regularly staffed the crisis listening line from midnight to 6:00 am. She was also a volunteer at Perry County’s Shubael-Little Pioneer Museum.

Dot was a long-term member and regularly an officer of Farm Bureau, the Historical Society, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Chamber of Commerce, Tri-Kappa, the Perry County Parks and Recreation Board, the Perry County Long-Range Planning Committee, and Kiwanis where she was a long-term leader on the scholarship committee. She also served on the Advisory Council for the Visiting Nurses Association, the local board of the American Heart Association, the Board of Directors of Southern Hills Counseling Center, the Vocational Education Board, the 4-H Extension Advisory Council, and the Executive Agriculture Board.

Dot’s outstanding service to the community led to many recognitions including, Distinguished Woman of Perry County, the Senior Service Award, the first Jane Award in Perry County for leadership in Purdue University’s extension programs, the first Friends of Extension Award in the county, Indiana Association of County and District Fairs “Hall of Fame” award, and the Sam Walton Business Leader Award. She received the Schweitzer Fest Distinguished Citizen Award in 1985. In 2018, Dot was recognized for service to her community with the prestigious Golden Hoosier Award. In 2021 she was Grand Marshall in the Annual Tell City Christmas Parade.

As a life-long learner, Dot loved to travel internationally and was especially pleased to travel to Germany, the home of her ancestors. Other countries she visited included England, Scotland, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, New Zealand, and Australia.

Dot was predeceased by her husband, Ed, her parents and siblings Mildred, Oscar, Paul, and Jean; sons-in-law Bill Fiscus and Doug Young; and cherished dance partners Gervase Dauby and Jim Stevens.

She is survived by her daughters Margaret Young of New Orleans, LA; Joan Austin (David) of Bloomington, IN; Jean Kessner of Syracuse, NY; Janice Davies (David) of Evansville, IN; Marsha Fiscus of Evansville, IN; Melissa Rynkiewich (Paul) of St. Phillips, IN; and Melitta Kessner of Ashville, NC. Dorothy leaves 10 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and 4 great-great grandchildren.

We offer sincere gratitude to Melitta, Martha, Caroline, Linda, and Heart to Heart Hospice whose care allowed mother to remain in her home these past few months.

We want to thank the Tell City community for their love and support of our mother throughout these many years. They are truly her extended family.

Calling hours: December 21st from 2:00 to 7:00 pm; December 22nd from 9:00 to 10:00 am at Zoercher-Gillick Funeral Home.

Funeral: December 22, 2022, at 10:30 at Evangelical United Church of Christ, 802 10th Street, Tell City, IN 47586. Burial will follow the service at Greenwood Cemetery, 1051 22nd Street, Tell City, IN.

Memorial donations may be directed to Evangelical United Church of Christ, 802 10th Street, Tell City, IN 47586.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorothy (Ziegelgruber) Kessner, please visit our floral store.