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Sallie Kessler, 82, Procter & Gamble
FROSTPROOF -- Mrs. Sallie M. Hadden Kessler left her sharecropping farm in Georgia in hopes of making a better life in Frostproof.
She died of heart failure Friday (Sept. 9, 2005) at Lake Wales Medical Center. She was 82.
Born Dec. 19, 1922, in Stillmore, Ga., Mrs. Kessler moved to Frostproof from Swainsboro, Ga., in 1945. Economic conditions forced her and her husband to leave a 300-acre sharecropping farm where they grew tobacco and corn, according to her son, Larry Hadden of Frostproof.
"The market was so bad at the time, you couldn't get anything, " Hadden said. "They wanted a new life -- something, as they said, that was better than starving in Georgia."
Five children complicated matters. After settling in Florida, Mrs. Kessler gave birth to three more children, all of whom she cared for while working in canning and juicing factories. She retired from Procter & Gamble Co. in 1985.
As an adult, Hadden asked his mother how she managed to raise eight children while working. Answer: She just didn't think about it.
"We look back, and the values of working, getting up early and going to bed early were all there, " Hadden said. "That's something you wish you could can or put on a CD, but it doesn't come that way. It comes from mothers."
Mrs. Kessler attended Emmanuel Baptist Church in Frostproof. She was preceded in death by her first husband, E.M. Pete Hadden and her second husband, James D. Kessler. She is survived by her daughters, Johnnie C. Bradshaw, Lake Toxaway, N.C., Gladys M. Owen, Brevard, N.C., Ruthie W. Blasio, Frostproof, Deborah D. Marlow, Frostproof; sons, John M. Hadden, Albertsville, Ala., James K. Hadden, Larry K. Hadden and Ronnie B. Hadden, all of Frostproof; brother, Ed Mills, Lake Wales; sisters, Marie Martin, Sebring, Evell Anderson-Hadden, Frostproof, Nellie Fordice, Pittsburgh; 37 grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Marion Nelson Funeral Home, Frostproof. Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Johnnie Edge, 71 Publix Super Markets
LAKELAND -- During the many years that Mr. Johnnie Anderson Edge was a musician, he performed with The Mighty Spiritual Regulators and other gospel groups and recorded the song "I Know the Lord Will Make a Way."
"He just loved gospel singing and all kinds of music, " said his wife of nine years, Earlene R. Edge. "He loved preaching and playing the keyboard. He liked it better than the piano, but he played the guitar better. He had a real talent."
Mr. Edge, a retired employee for Publix Super Markets, died of lung failure Thursday (Aug. 25, 2005) at Kindred HospitalBay Area-Tampa. He was 71.
He was born in Horry County, S.C., and began teaching himself to play the guitar at the age of 4.
He came to Lakeland from Horry County in 1957 and worked for Publix for 16 years before retiring in 1999.
"He was soft and quiet. He didn't speak much but when he spoke, it was real good, " Earlene Edge said.
He was active in several gospel groups, and as a longtime member of Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church he performed in the Male Chorus and Senior Choir.
He was a former member and deacon at Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Institutional Church.
In addition to his wife, Earlene R. Edge, Mr. Edge is survived by his brother, James Talma Edge, Little River, S.C., and sisters, Lillian Bellamy McMillian, South Port, N.C., and Ruby Edge Vaught, Little River.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 this evening at Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church, 1240 N. Ohio Ave., Lakeland. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.
H.W. Oldham Funeral Home.
RODRIC RUSCHÉ, 56
Philip Service Corp.
LAKELAND -- Mr. Rodric Jesse Rusché of Lakeland died of cancer Friday (Sept. 2, 2005) at Munson Hospice House, Traverse City, Mich. He was 56.
Born June 13, 1949, in Detroit, Mich., Mr. Rusche' lived in Polk County for a number years before moving to Houston, Texas. He returned to the county three months ago. He served in the Marines and fought in the Vietnam War. He served as vice president and director of Philip Service Corp. He attended Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Rusché is survived by his wife, Jan Rusché, Lakeland; sons, Ben Rusché, Detroit, Chris Rusché, Lakeland, and Zach Waring, Mulberry; sister, Char Rusché, Detroit; and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church. Services will follow at 11 a.m. at the church.
A.M. Seigler Funeral Home Inc.
EDWARD KOSCHEN, 81
Ocean Engineer
OPA LOCKA -- Mr. Edward Peter Koschen of Opa Locka died of lung cancer Wednesday (Aug. 24, 2005). He was 81.
Born Aug. 21, 1924, in Brighton, Mass., Mr. Koschen moved to Opa Locka in 1967. He served in the Navy and fought in World War II. He worked as an ocean engineer for the University of Miami. He was a lifetime member of the VFW. He was Catholic.
Mr. Koschen was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Koschen. He is survived by his companion, Stella Nixon, Bartow; stepchildren, Debbie Lee, Clay Bohman and Billy Bohman; sister, Gertrude Garrells, Cranstan, R.I.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Ott-Laughlin Funeral Home, Auburndale. Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Clara Howard, 68, Goodwill Industries
LAKE WALES -- One of Mrs. Clara Nettie Howard's final acts of generosity was to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"Right before she passed away at the nursing home, she went to the director and she told them, `I may be old and I may be sick, but I'm not dead, and I want to do something to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.' In two weeks, they raised over $1, 000, " said her granddaughter, Jasmyne Grant-Smith of Lake Wales. "She said she had to do something to help."
Mrs. Howard, a lifelong Floridian and a former assistant manager of the Goodwill Industries Store in Lake Wales, died of lung failure Saturday (Sept. 17, 2005) at Winter Haven Hospital. She was 68.
Born in Loughman on Oct. 14, 1936, Mrs. Howard came to Lake Wales from there 52 years ago. She had five children and helped raise her granddaughter.
After her daughter died, Mrs. Howard raised her granddaughter, who was 9 at the time.
Mrs. Howard worked for Goodwill Industries for about 12 years before leaving to take care of ailing family members, including her husband.
"No mattter what the situation that was going on at the time, she never let it get her down, " Grant-Smith said. "She loved to love people, and anytime she saw a need, she tried her best to fulfill it."
Mrs. Howard was a member of Faith Temple Holiness Church of God in Christ in Lake Wales and served the Mother's Board. She was a Sunday school teacher and a missionary.
In 1998, Mrs. Howard was preceded in death by her husband of 38 years, Joe Howard. She is survived by her son, Donald "Donnie" Grant, Lake Wales; daughters, Joann Chadwick, Haines City, Yuvonne Lovett, Trenton, S.C., and Debra Cox, Lake Wales; 14 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Faith Temple Holiness Church, 303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Lake Wales. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.
Epps Mortuary, Lake Wales.
JOHNNIE REYNOLDS, 76
Truck Driver
LAKELAND -- Mr. Johnnie W. Reynolds of Lakeland died of heart failure Aug. 18, 2005, at Palm Terrace of Lakeland. He was 76.
Born in Fort Gaines, Ga., Mr. Reynolds came to Lakeland from there 45 years ago. He was an independent truck driver. He was a member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Lakeland.
Mr. Reynolds is survived by his sons, Melvin Reynolds, Blakely, Ga., Johnnie E. Reynolds, Lakeland, Joel Davis, Thomasville, Ga., John Reynolds, Blakely, Ga.; daughters, Annie Jean Clark, Annie Ruth Bess, both of Albany, Ga., Margaret Canty, Fort Gaines, Ga., Mary Kaye Grace, Juliette Durr, both of Tampa, Demetria Baker, Lakeland; brother, Donald Reynolds, Fort Gaines; sisters, Juanita Baldwin, Mary Denson, both of Lakeland; 28 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Mount Calvary M.B. Church on Amos Ave. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.
H.W. Oldham Funeral Home.
