Frederick Kessler

Frederick Philip Kessler, Jr. was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 11, 1940 to Frederick Philip Kessler, Sr. and Marie Schroeder Kessler; he passed away on November 12, 2024. He was preceded in death by his sister, Dr. Karen (Dr. Albert) Kreutner, and is survived by his wife Joan; daughters Elizabeth Kessler and Anna (Jason) Rulnick; grandchildren Noah, Maxim, Josephine, and Hailey; sister Suzanne (Tom) Frost; and many beloved nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. Fred Kessler was born to immigrant parents. Both his mother and father left Germany for the United States between WWI and WWII, and met in Milwaukee. His father was a leader in the Milwaukee German-American community, and Fred followed in his footsteps having been active with the Milwaukee Turners, Goethe House, DANK (German-American National Congress), Milwaukee German Immersion Foundation, and Milwaukee Donauschwaben. In 2022 he was named German American of the Year by the German Societies of Wisconsin. Kessler had a distinguished career in Milwaukee politics, beginning as a high school student Democratic activist and as a page for U.S. Representative Clement S. Zablocki. He ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly as a 20 year old, in 1960, when he was too young to vote, and was sworn into office on his 21st birthday. He served in the Assembly, first, until 1972, when Governor John Reynolds appointed him as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge. Spearheading the court reorganization efforts, Kessler served on the bench from 1972-1982, when he left to pursue his dream of representing Milwaukee in the U.S. House of Representatives, running for the seat vacated by the retirement of Congressman Henry Reuss. Although he lost that 13-person Democratic primary, he remained committed to serve, and successfully challenged Judge Christ T. Seraphim for a seat on the Circuit Court in 1986. Kessler unsuccessfully ran for Congress again in 1992. For the next decade, he worked primarily as a labor arbitrator, and on his life-long passion, redistricting and voting rights. Following his wife Joan's election to the State Court of Appeals, in 2004 Kessler ran for an open seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly, on the northwest side of the City of Milwaukee. Kessler held that seat through 2018, in spite of massive partisan gerrymandering efforts in 2011, which removed his home from his district, forcing him to move in order to stay in his district. Kessler was passionate about civil rights, particularly voting rights, and was an extremely active behind the scenes organizer of the Whitford v. Gill challenge to politically motivated gerrymandering. He was deeply committed to public education, fighting for innovation within the Milwaukee Public Schools and against the privatization of education. He was especially passionate in his support of Milwaukee's language immersion schools; his daughter Anna and niece Rebekah were in the first class of 4-K students attending Milwaukee German Immersion School, where his grandchildren Noah and Josie also graduated. There was nothing Fred Kessler loved more than to advise people considering public service, especially young people. He learned those skills from his own tremendous mentors, of whom there were many. A few whose influence stands out were Congressman Clement S. Zablocki, Congressman Henry S. Reuss, Judge John W. Reynolds, Milwaukee County Supervisors Clinton and Bernice Rose, and community organizer August Charles Edward "Ace" Backus. Clint Rose and Ace Backus especially taught Fred the importance of always reaching out to new people and encouraging their political involvement. Fred Kessler could see the potential in almost everyone he met, and could envision a path that would allow them to succeed politically (though his vision might be quite different from what they imagined). His Democratic Caucus colleagues might not always know what was coming when he said, "Sit down a minute, let's talk," but they knew it would be thought provoking and that it came from his desire to see them succeed and to make the world a better place. As with many of us, the 2020 Covid Pandemic altered the course of Fred Kessler's life. He got sick in July 2020, developed heart issues requiring a pacemaker in October 2020, and was subsequently diagnosed with Broca's aphasia, a progressive injury to the expressive language center of the brain. To the end, he could understand the conversations around him, read, and watch the news, but his ability to talk became progressively worse. For someone like Fred Kessler, who loved people, loved telling stories, and loved talking about politics, world affairs, and how to solve problems, it was devastating. In early October 2024, Kessler was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. He and his family believed they had more time, and had only begun to share the news and to ask friends and extended family to visit. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to the ACLU of Wisconsin or the German Immersion Foundation.