My Uncle Peter:
Born Piet Jochems Ketellapper in The Netherlands, he arrived in New Jersey with his mother and older brother on March 14, 1948 via the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam when he was 15 years old. His father had died when he was age ten. He finished high school in the US and enlisted in the US Army. After he got out of the Army, he changed his name to Peter Kessler.
He spent two years, 1953 & 1954, over in Korea while serving in the Signal Corps. He told me how he had to climb poles & twist wires in 40 degree below zero weather. They would light bales of garbage at the base of the pole to make the job easier. He took many beautiful photos while over there that I'm fortunate to have in the album he created.
Uncle Peter was a self-taught Electrical Engineer. He married a woman he met in AA in 1976, but the marriage didn't last and they had no children. In his later years, he dabbled selling antiques and sold items at flea markets. He bought a row house that he was refurbishing when he died at home of a cardiac arrhythmia at age 71.
When I was around 5 years old, he took me for a ride in his little red sports car & steered with his knees - I remember thinking he was the coolest ever! He was a funny guy who wasn't afraid to be a bit irreverent, & he loved to tell jokes & stories.
Born Piet Jochems Ketellapper in The Netherlands, he arrived in New Jersey with his mother and older brother on March 14, 1948 via the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam when he was 15 years old. His father had died when he was age ten. He finished high school in the US and enlisted in the US Army. After he got out of the Army, he changed his name to Peter Kessler.
He spent two years, 1953 & 1954, over in Korea while serving in the Signal Corps. He told me how he had to climb poles & twist wires in 40 degree below zero weather. They would light bales of garbage at the base of the pole to make the job easier. He took many beautiful photos while over there that I'm fortunate to have in the album he created.
Uncle Peter was a self-taught Electrical Engineer. He married a woman he met in AA in 1976, but the marriage didn't last and they had no children. In his later years, he dabbled selling antiques and sold items at flea markets. He bought a row house that he was refurbishing when he died at home of a cardiac arrhythmia at age 71.
When I was around 5 years old, he took me for a ride in his little red sports car & steered with his knees - I remember thinking he was the coolest ever! He was a funny guy who wasn't afraid to be a bit irreverent, & he loved to tell jokes & stories.
My Uncle Peter:
Born Piet Jochems Ketellapper in The Netherlands, he arrived in New Jersey with his mother and older brother on March 14, 1948 via the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam when he was 15 years old. His father had died when he was age ten. He finished high school in the US and enlisted in the US Army. After he got out of the Army, he changed his name to Peter Kessler.
He spent two years, 1953 & 1954, over in Korea while serving in the Signal Corps. He told me how he had to climb poles & twist wires in 40 degree below zero weather. They would light bales of garbage at the base of the pole to make the job easier. He took many beautiful photos while over there that I'm fortunate to have in the album he created.
Uncle Peter was a self-taught Electrical Engineer. He married a woman he met in AA in 1976, but the marriage didn't last and they had no children. In his later years, he dabbled selling antiques and sold items at flea markets. He bought a row house that he was refurbishing when he died at home of a cardiac arrhythmia at age 71.
When I was around 5 years old, he took me for a ride in his little red sports car & steered with his knees - I remember thinking he was the coolest ever! He was a funny guy who wasn't afraid to be a bit irreverent, & he loved to tell jokes & stories.
Born Piet Jochems Ketellapper in The Netherlands, he arrived in New Jersey with his mother and older brother on March 14, 1948 via the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam when he was 15 years old. His father had died when he was age ten. He finished high school in the US and enlisted in the US Army. After he got out of the Army, he changed his name to Peter Kessler.
He spent two years, 1953 & 1954, over in Korea while serving in the Signal Corps. He told me how he had to climb poles & twist wires in 40 degree below zero weather. They would light bales of garbage at the base of the pole to make the job easier. He took many beautiful photos while over there that I'm fortunate to have in the album he created.
Uncle Peter was a self-taught Electrical Engineer. He married a woman he met in AA in 1976, but the marriage didn't last and they had no children. In his later years, he dabbled selling antiques and sold items at flea markets. He bought a row house that he was refurbishing when he died at home of a cardiac arrhythmia at age 71.
When I was around 5 years old, he took me for a ride in his little red sports car & steered with his knees - I remember thinking he was the coolest ever! He was a funny guy who wasn't afraid to be a bit irreverent, & he loved to tell jokes & stories.
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