Margaret Menges Kesler

Margaret Menges Kesler, 98, of Redmond, WA, died August 25, 2012 at Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, WA. Mrs. Kesler was born May 10, 1914, in Hanover, PA, the daughter of Jesse Calvin and Alice Easley Menges. She was educated in the Hanover schools, graduating from high school at the age of 15 and completing three years at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC before the depression brought her education to an end. She majored in Home Economics and her skill in clothing design brought recognition and awards for her costume creations. Margaret married Thomas Lingle Kesler of Salisbury, NC in 1932 and they celebrated their 65th anniversary before his death in 1997. Mr. Kesler was a geologist and their marriage began an odyssey of travel across the country. A portable Singer Sewing Machine kept Margaret company in small towns while Tom worked for Shell Petroleum Corp. in Texas, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service throughout the Western United States, and in Washington, D.C. during world War II. A son and daughter were born during their stay in Washington and then further moves took them to Cartersville, GA, Morristown, TN and Kings Mountain, NC.Kings Mountain proved to be a stopping place for ten years and Margaret was very active in community and church activities. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Woman’s Club, the Book Club, headed the Blood Bank Drive, played an excellent hand of bridge and could out-dance anyone on the floor while wearing her own red taffeta creation. She led the Girl Scouts, drove her children to basketball and piano practice, attended recitals, made most of her own and her daughter’s clothing, braided rugs, made curtains, reupholstered and refinished furniture and cooked delicious meals. In short, she was a true homemaker. When the children left for college, Tom’s work took them to Plainfield, NJ and then back to Georgia to prepare for retirement. After several years, the North Carolina mountains, which had always been a vacation destination, became their retirement location, bringing them to Hendersonville, NC, but the arrival of grandchildren and the constant travel back and forth to see them set them on a course for Bellevue, WA to be close to their daughter and her family. The Bellevue years, which stretched to 38 for Margaret, were filled with activities at the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue where her faith was an example to her family. She enjoyed genealogy and researched her family for admittance to the Daughters of the American Revolution and membership in Cascade Chapter. She was a wonderful grandmother to her four grandchildren and, as the years passed, she was great-grandmother to six. After Tom’s death in 1997, she moved to Cascade Plaza where she began making friends and having adventures. A broken hip followed by a broken shoulder finally brought her to her last move. At Cascade Vista, yet again, she began making friends and was just as busy as she had been all her life, attending the Bible study class, playing Bingo and enjoying her ever-expanding family.Mrs. Kesler was preceded in death by her husband, Tom; son-in-law, Zell Porter; two brothers and one sister. She is survived by son, Dr. Stephen Kesler (Judy), Ann Arbor, MI; daughter, Susie Porter McFatridge (John), Bellevue, WA; grandchildren, Amy Ormiston (Perry), Puyallup, WA; Liza Wallace (Jeff), Sammamish, WA; Dr. Sarah Kesler, Minneapolis, MN; and David Kesler (Mya), Berkeley, CA; great-grandchildren; Sarah and Lauren Ormiston, Emily and Gavin Wallace and Elias and Kai Kesler.The family suggests remembrances to First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, 1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, 98004