Patricia S Kessler

  Patricia Shannon Kessler, known by family and friends as Pat, died on Sunday, October 9, at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage, CA. She was 82. Born October 16, 1939, in Shreveport, LA, Pat was raised by her mother, Elizabeth Robertson, in Shreveport, New Orleans, Miami, and elsewhere in the Southeastern U.S. before moving to Los Angeles at age 14. She attended Belmont High School and later Beverly Hills High School, where she met her future husband, Richard Kessler (“Rick”). While in high school, she worked the counter at Mort’s Deli at the Farmer’s Market on 3rd and Fairfax. Pat graduated high school in 1957 and worked briefly in public relations. She and Rick married in 1960 at Temple Emanuel. Shortly afterward, Pat converted to Judaism. Between 1962 and 1971, Pat and Rick had four children – Ron, David, Elizabeth, and Mike. Pat wanted greater structure and stability for her children than she had as a child, and she committed herself as a parent, happily schlepping her kids (and their friends) all over L.A. –  to hockey practice, little league games, amusement parks, beaches, skateparks, and to the slopes at Mammoth Mountain, where she preferred reading by the fire to skiing. In the Kessler’s Benedict Canyon neighborhood, Pat was known as a no-nonsense, fun-loving, approachable matriarch whose door was always open to kids (and more than a few dogs). She was never afraid to state an opinion, eat an extra scoop at Baskin Robbins, or decapitate rattlesnakes that came within 100 yards of her kids or dogs. While raising children, Pat still found time to sing with the choir at Stephen S. Wise Temple and to participate in other temple groups. These activities also fulfilled a sense of community. In 1986, Pat enrolled at Mount St. Mary’s University, where she earned her B.A. with a major in English and a minor in Psychology, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She then worked at the school, giving guidance to others pursuing their degrees later in life. The job was just one example of her generosity. In her early fifties, with no training, Pat took up English horse riding and even entered several showjumping competitions. With Rick, she got hooked on square dancing in 1994 and became an integral member of their dance club, the Trail Dusters, for nearly 30 years. In her final two-and-a-half decades, she traveled extensively, played a lot of mahjong, adopted and spoiled many more dogs, and spent as much time as she could with her grandchildren, who meant the world to her, and whose photos are placed all around her house. Despite health issues over the past few years, Pat was an unstoppable force until the very end. She is survived by her husband, Rick; four children, Ron, David, Elizabeth, and Mike; three daughters-in-law, Alyson Kessler, Sandy Kessler, and Sarah Fuss Kessler; six grandchildren, Summer Kessler, Brooke Kessler, Rachel Lodgen, Tess Kessler, Goldie Cormier, and Wally Sparks; and five great grandchildren, Bodhi Sparks, Indie Sparks, Annadelle Cormier, Wesley Blair, and Benjamin Bogart.