Gary Dell Kessler, 78, lastly of Charlottesville, Virginia, passed on July 29, 2024. He leaves behind his beloved, patient, and tolerant wife of nearly 56 years, Evelyn Cottman Kessler; a son, Gregory Drew Kessler and wife, Aimee, of Yardley, Pennsylvania; a daughter, Katherine Kessler Stratton, and husband Steve of Berryville, Virginia, and granddaughters, Maeve and Maia Kessler. Also left behind are sisters The Reverend Carole Stockberger (Lynn), Marta Anderson (John), and Donna Hoke (Charlie) and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was born in Crescent City, California, on July 29, 1946 and, as an army brat, lived in Oregon, California, Colorado, Virginia, and Germany before settling into university life in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he received his BA and MA in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and where he met and married a nursing student, Evelyn Cottman, in 1968. Later he took another masters degree, in governmental administration for George Washington University and a diploma from the U.S. Army War College. He first joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1965 for a thirty-two-year career in the Washington D.C. area, with tours in Japan, Thailand (twice), and Cyprus (twice). Gary served in editorial, analytical, and management positions with the government’s foreign news collection agency, FBIS, eventually serving as the chief of the Middle East bureau.

Gary was trained in theater craft at Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage and kept his love of theater and music alive during his career by acting in and producing and directing numerous plays, singing in international choirs, and serving as drama critic and entertainment columnist for two English-language newspapers each in Thailand and Cyprus as well as consulting for movies. As president of the Bangkok Music Society, he functioned as official host for a Bangkok concert tour by the New York Philharmonic orchestra in 1985. He also was cofounder of the Chopin Society of Thailand. He studied Chinese brush painting and hand painted the family’s Christmas cards for more than forty years.

In semiretirement in Charlottesville, Gary ran an editorial and publishing consultancy service for twenty years, editing over 160 academic and trade books for mainstream publishers. More than thirty of his own nonfiction, fiction, and short story anthology works have been published in true or pen name, and he was the volume editor for thirteen published multivolume prose and poetry anthologies.

He sang in church choirs worldwide, his last stop being at Charlottesville’s First United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the charity of your choice.

For more on services and to share your condolences, visit Hill and Wood Funeral Service.