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Contact Info
Home Town Toledo, Ohio
Last Address Born, raised and resided in Toledo, Ohio.
Date of Passing May 28, 2016
Location of Interment Toledo Memorial Park - Sylvania, Ohio
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
John "Jack" Kesling, WWII Seabee
Born in Toledo on July 17, 1927, to Orval and Fern Kesling, John Kesling went on to attend and graduate from Woodward High School, though his education was paused for a stint with the Navy during World War II. Like so many young men in the 1940s, he lied about his age and enlisted during World War II. John Kesling served two years with the Navy Seabees, stationed at Port Hueneme, as a teenager. When the war ended in 1945, he returned to Toledo to finish his schooling in 1947.
Other Comments:
In 1948 and 1949, Jack Kesling played semi-professional football for the North Toledo Merchants (in high school he was a four-year letterman and team quarterback). He and his brother also tried out for the Chicago White Sox at a camp in Lima, however neither made the team.
Jack's many careers included being operations manager and stage manager at the Masonic Auditorium. He was T.V. director and host of the " MR. T" show on WTOL-TV from 1964-1971 and on the Bowling for Dollars show on WDHO (WNWO) from 1974-1975. He also was a T.V. producer and director for the National Cablecasting Company in Detroit from 1971-1972. He eventually left television and retired in 1992 from the United States Postal Service.
He played vibes at many private parties and every year at the Cafe Concert Series at Toledo Botanical Gardens. Jack was a Free and Accepted Mason, a member of Lodge #746 Harbor Light, 32° Mason Valley of Toledo, and the Zenobia Shrine where he was president of the Arab Patrol Marching Unit in 2001.