September 17 1924 November 24 2019
Kenneth’s Obituary CHARLESTON, IL – Kenneth Eugene “Ken” Hesler, age 95 of Charleston, Illinois passed away on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. Visitation for friends and family will be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 21, 2019 at Adams Funeral Chapel in Charleston. The Memorial Service, honoring and celebrating his life, will begin at 11:00 a.m. immediately following the visitation and will include military rites. The Graveside Inurnment will be at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon at the Harmony Cemetery located in Cumberland County north of Greenup, Illinois. Ken’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in his honor be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation or the EIU Foundation. Gifts may be left at the visitation/service or mailed to Adams Funeral Chapel, 2330 Shawnee Drive, Charleston, Illinois 61920. Ken was born September 17, 1924, just north of Greenup, Illinois to the late James Francis “Frank” and Lillian (Gaddis) Hesler. Growing up in rural Cumberland County, Ken attended Lost Creek School, a one-room schoolhouse two miles north of Greenup. After moving into town, he enrolled in the community schools and graduated from Greenup High School in 1942. Immediately upon graduation, Ken was determined to enlist in the military and fight in the war against Germany and Italy. Despite his young age of 17, he convinced his mother to sign an affidavit indicating he was actually 18 years old so he could join the United States Army in June of 1942. After basic training in Manhattan, New York City, Ken set sail for Europe where he would serve for nearly three years. Ken trained in Great Britain with an anti-aircraft/automatic weapons battalion. That unit, later designated the 893rd AAA/AW Battalion, took part in the invasions and land campaigns of North Africa and Sicily. In the spring of 1944, Ken volunteered for parachute training and was assigned to the 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion where he trained in Rome for the August invasion of Southern France (Operation Dragoon) as part of the First Airborne Taskforce. Following the jump into France, the unit campaigned along the Cote d’Azur and into the French Maritime Alps near the Italian border. The 463rd was then assigned to 101st Airborne Division when it was sent to Belgium to defend the city of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. During that battle, the 101st was surrounded by overwhelming German forces for five days, successfully resisting enemy demand for its surrender. For this action, the division received the first Presidential I Citation awarded to an entire division. Following a brief campaign in the Alsace region of France, Ken received a 30-day temporary leave home from the battlefield due to his long overseas service record with the stipulation that he return to his unit in Europe. However, the war ended during his leave and he was discharged from the Army on May 28, 1945. After a year of college under the G.I. Bill, Ken decided to make the Army a career and he re-enlisted for an additional 18 month assignment serving with the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While at Fort Knox, he served as an instructor in the division’s cadre school and the Army’s Universal Experimental Military Training Unit until his commanding officer told him to get out of the Army and go back to school. Following his commander’s advice, he left the service to enroll at EIU in November 1947. Ken’s student and professional life at Eastern Illinois University spanned 36 years. As an undergraduate, Ken was an English major, with minors in journalism, chemistry, and history. He was involved in a variety of student activities, including editor of the Eastern News, chairman of the Homecoming Committee, and member of the Student Council. Upon graduation in 1951, Ken was hired by the University as Acting Director of Publicity. Ken earned his Master’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1953 with further graduate study there in Mass Communications and American Literature. His EIU career advanced through positions in sports information, university information and alumni services, as well as an instructor of journalism and advisor to the Eastern News. He retired from EIU in 1984 as Director of University Relations and Development. After his retirement in 1984, Ken continued his dedication to the military with his involvement in the 101st Airborne Association and his assistance to numerous families in learning more about the service of their soldier loved ones. Ken was also honored to serve as one of two 101st veterans escorting (then) UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright at the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium. During his student years at EIU, Ken met Nancy Ann Inyart of Charleston, and they married on December 22, 1951. She survives, along with their daughter, Denise Ann Hesler of St. Louis, Missouri, and a host of nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, W. Conrad, Frank, G. William, and sisters, Rosemary Graham and Wanda Jean Gentry. Read More
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Kenneth E Hesler September 17 1924 November 24 2019.
Death notice for the town of: Charleston, state: Illinois