Lillian Asher Gessner April 29, 1929 – January 27, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers View/Sign Guest Book| Send Sympathy Card Lillian “Kitty” (Asher) Gessner, age 89, of Pilesgrove, NJ, passed away peacefully Sunday January 27. Kitty is predeceased by her close friend and husband Richard J. “Dick” Gessner. Born in Pedricktown, NJ in 1929 to the late James D. and Eithel Asher, Kitty was the 10th of 14 children the family was to be blessed with.
Later the family would move to Penns Grove and Center Square before moving back to Pedricktown. Kitty graduated Valedictorian from Swedesboro High School in 1946. After graduating from Keystone Secretarial School in Swarthmore, PA (Thanks to help from her sister Alvoy “Bug”) and starting work at the DuPont Chambers Work Plant in Deeopwater, NJ, Kitty married Richard “Dick” Gessner on April 10 1953.
In 1955 they built a house outside of Woodstown, NJ on Marlton Road where they raised their two sons and enjoyed a beautiful marriage for almost 65 years. First as “Aunt Kitty” and later as “Grandmom” she never forgot what it was to be a child at heart. She loved playing with her grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, and all of their children, never failing to make their world a magical place.
“Aunt Kitty” also enjoyed acting as the Asher Family historian and genealogist and loved nothing better than all those big, fun Asher picnics. She also loved visiting Kentucky almost every year with her husband and felt as home there with her family and friends as she did in New Jersey. Kitty was also very close to Dick’s parents, Ruth and Joe Gessner, and Dick’s sisters, Ruth Ann Eller, Janet Mahoney, and Harriet Hannah.
Kitty loved writing stories and books, painting, traveling with her husband, typing papers for desperate college students, helping people with their taxes, gardening and giving away hundreds of beautiful trees and plants, and genuinely enjoying life. At the urging of her then Cub Scout-age son, Rick, she became a den mother and continued as a Scout volunteer for many years, including serving as the Treasurer for Boy Scout Troop 38 in Woodstown. As a member of the First Baptist Church of Woodstown, Kitty worked as the church secretary for thirty-four years and enjoyed many hours teaching Sunday School and working with the church youth.
In 2003 a scholarship was established in her name by the Church Deacons to honor her dedication and spirit. Kitty is predeceased by her parents, her husband, and twelve brothers and sisters; Alvoy “Bug” Thiele, Dorothy Todd, Mary Marquez, John “Tommy” Asher, Elizabeth “Popsie” McBride, Forrest “Pete” Asher, James Asher, Margaret Kowal, Mildred Savage, Kathryn Youker, William “Bill” Asher, and Walter “Timer” Asher. Kitty is survived by her sister, Emma “Sugar” Huber and Sugar’s husband Bill Huber of Columbus, NJ; her son, Richard J. Gessner, Jr., and wife, Kimberly (Martin) Gessner, and grandchildren, Sarah, Lilly, and Richard of Wilmington, DE; son Joseph Gessner and wife, Sonia (Canales) Gessner, and grandchildren, Leopoldo “Leo” and Asher of Princeton, NJ.
The family would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses, and the staff at Friends Village in Woodstown, NJ who took such great care of Kitty. Visitation will be held for friends and family on Saturday February 2 at the First Baptist Church of Woodstown, 117 South Main St., Woodstown, NJ 08098 from 10am to 11am followed by a church service at 11am and interment at the church cemetery and a luncheon at the fellowship hall immediately afterwards. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Memorial Fund at the First Baptist Church of Woodstown.
Funeral Arrangements are under the care and direction of Huber Moore Funeral Home, Bordentown, NJ.
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