Andre
Andre John Kessler
d. June 25, 2019
On Tuesday, June 25th, 2019, Andre John Kessler, loving husband, father, and grandfather passed away peacefully at the age of 79. Andre was born on March 8th, 1940 in Bucharest, Romania to Olga Kessler and Ladislas Grunfeld. He is survived by his wife, Marsha Tenenbaum Kessler, his daughter, Gena Kessler Hindman (Rusty), son Laurence Kessler (Lindsay Burnett Kessler) and his four grandchildren, Samuel (11), Benjamin (8), Joseph (6) and Jordyn (6).
As a Holocaust survivor and child of Holocaust survivors, Andre and his mother survived by living in hiding in a tiny room for 16 months, escaped across several country borders and oceans, and after many tribulations arrived in Queens, New York in 1951 when Andre was eleven years old. Andre spoke five languages, became a Navy Corpsman, graduated from and played basketball at NYU, and afterwards was drafted into the NBA where he played two years of professional basketball for the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors). After his stint in the NBA, Andre worked for a textile company that brought him to Georgia where he met Marsha. Together, they recently celebrated their 45th anniversary in December 2018.
Andre was a passionate proponent of Holocaust education, and in 1976 he began speaking at the Jewish Federation, the Bremen Museum and countless schools across the state of Georgia. He was appointed to the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust by Governor Barnes and was instrumental in the creation of Kennesaw State University\'s Anne Frank Exhibit. In an interview in 2013, when asked why it was so important for him to speak about the holocaust and his experience, Andre responded: \"Even though the Holocaust is one of the most documented events in human history, 40 or 50 years from now, it\'s all going to be on tape, it\'s all going to be on film. There aren\'t going to be any living survivors around. It is important that it is not forgotten, and that is why I do what I do.\"
A funeral service will be held at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah on Friday, June 28th, 2019 at 10:00am. A memorial service will be held at Congregation B\'nai Torah in Sandy Springs on Monday, July 1st, 2019 at 6:15pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made on Andre\'s behalf to Congregation B\'nai Torah or the William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum.
As a Holocaust survivor and child of Holocaust survivors, Andre and his mother survived by living in hiding in a tiny room for 16 months, escaped across several country borders and oceans, and after many tribulations arrived in Queens, New York in 1951 when Andre was eleven years old. Andre spoke five languages, became a Navy Corpsman, graduated from and played basketball at NYU, and afterwards was drafted into the NBA where he played two years of professional basketball for the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors). After his stint in the NBA, Andre worked for a textile company that brought him to Georgia where he met Marsha. Together, they recently celebrated their 45th anniversary in December 2018.
Andre was a passionate proponent of Holocaust education, and in 1976 he began speaking at the Jewish Federation, the Bremen Museum and countless schools across the state of Georgia. He was appointed to the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust by Governor Barnes and was instrumental in the creation of Kennesaw State University\'s Anne Frank Exhibit. In an interview in 2013, when asked why it was so important for him to speak about the holocaust and his experience, Andre responded: \"Even though the Holocaust is one of the most documented events in human history, 40 or 50 years from now, it\'s all going to be on tape, it\'s all going to be on film. There aren\'t going to be any living survivors around. It is important that it is not forgotten, and that is why I do what I do.\"
A funeral service will be held at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah on Friday, June 28th, 2019 at 10:00am. A memorial service will be held at Congregation B\'nai Torah in Sandy Springs on Monday, July 1st, 2019 at 6:15pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made on Andre\'s behalf to Congregation B\'nai Torah or the William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum.
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