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Birth:          29 Apr 1922 Jamestown, N.Y.
Death:          31 Jul 2017 St. Marys, Elk Co., N.Y.
Burial:         Parklawn Memorial Gardens, Ridgway, Elk Co., Pa.

Notes
!PUBL
homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kenzie/DesRichter.htm
obit of Carol Bertha Olney DeForrest Sapienza
US Soc Sec Apps and Claims on ancestry
John R. "Jack" Kestler, 95, of 1005 S. Michael St., St. Marys, died Monday, July 31, 
2017 at Elk Haven Nursing Home. 

He was born Saturday, April 29, 1922 in Jamestown, New York, a son of the late John 
and Alice Rowland Kestler. 

Jack married his first wife, Kathryn Kay Kifer, in 1945. He married his second wife, 
Shirley Lardner in 1973, and they both preceded him in death. He married his third 
wife, Beula Delp Bodistow Kestler, on Feb. 16, 2007, and she survives. 

Jack graduated from Johnsonburg High School and enlisted and proudly served our 
country in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was a graduate of the 82nd Airborne 
Division of Company C, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and jumped in the 
Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. He was captured by the Germans and held as a 
prisoner of war for nearly nine months before being liberated by the Russians. He was 
discharged as a staff sergeant after three and a half years of service. He was a 
member of the 507 Airborne Association, which he was active with until his death. 

Following his military service, he worked at the Johnsonburg Paper Mill for 33 years. 
Until his retirement, he worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture with the 
school lunch programs. 

Always active in the community, Jack had been employed by the county of Elk for 
more th/an 27 years, serving as county treasurer for 19 years and eight years as 
auditor. He had been a member of Holy Rosary Church while living in Johnsonburg and 
was then a member of Sacred Heart Church. He was also a member of the American 
Legion and the K of C, member and past president of the Rotary Club and past 
president of the Johnsonburg Welfare Chest Fund. 

He enjoyed politics and had also served two terms on the St. Marys school board. He 
took pleasure in hunting and traveling. 

In addition to his wife, he is survived by seven daughters, Bonnie Skellen of Ridgway, 
Sharon Kestler of Erie, Sophie Berry of Emporium, Patricia Macullum of New Jersey, 
Sheila Lardner of Weed-ville, Sheryl Gruesu of Kersey and Noreen Lewis of Erie; three 
sons, Albert Lardner of New York, Paul Lardner of New York and Alan Lardner of 
Ridgway; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and two stepchildren, Carl 
Bodistow of Northeast and Mary Kepner of Sayre. 

In addition to his parents and his first and second wives, he was preceded in death by 
a son, Lawrence Lardner in 2005; and by a brother, Joseph Kestler. 

Due to renovations at Sacred Heart Church, a Mass of Christian Burial for John R. 
"Jack" Kestler will be celebrated in Sacred Heart Parish Activity Center, 337 Center 
St., St. Marys, on Friday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. with Fr. Eric Vogt, OSB, as celebrant. 

Military honors will be accorded by the St. Marys Servicemen's Burial Detail. Interment 
will follow in Parklawn Memorial Gardens. 

Visitation will be held at the Lynch-Green Funeral Home on Thursday, Aug. 3 from 2-4 
p.m. and 7-9 p.m. 

Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Church or to the St. Marys 
Servicemen's Burial Detail. 

Lynch-Green Funeral Home, 151 N. Michael St., St. Marys, is handling the 
arrangements and online condolences may be made to the family at 
www.lynchgreenfuneralhome.com.
Daily Press, The (St. Marys, PA) - Wednesday, August 2, 2017


Marriage To OLNEY Shirley Marguerite (1 May 1924 - 4 Jan 2005)
    m. 1973 

Notes

Parents
OLNEY Henry Warren (Warren Harold) (1889 - 1928)
GREINER Sophia (1891 - )

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