P/O George Kessler
Patrolman George Kessler
SOUTHERN DISTRICT TURNKEY
I DIED SUDDENLY YESTERDAY
7 July 1918
George F. Kessler
Patrolman in the Southern District for 28 years and the Turnkey at the Southern Police Station since March of 1914, died about 2 o'clock yesterday [July 6, 1918] afternoon. at his home, 1411 Patapsco Street, of heart trouble and acute indigestion. He was 64 years old.
He had been in ill health for the past two years, and yesterday, while going home for dinner, he complained of feeling badly and wanting to lay down for a while. A doctor was summoned, and after treating him, he said he would be all right and that he [the doctor] would return in a short time to see him. A few minutes after the doctor left, Patrolman Kessler became much worse and died.
Patrolman Kessler was born in Baltimore in December of 1853, the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Kessler. His father, Frederick, was also a member of the Baltimore Police Force and worked in the old Southern District. Patrolman Kessler was appointed to the force in June of 1886. He was a member of the Masons and the Heptasophs. He was survived by one sister, Miss Agnes Kessler, with whom he was living, and a granddaughter, Miss Sadie Kessler.
No arrangements had been made for the funeral.
NOTE: In the line of the second paragraph above, "while going home to dinner," this tells us he was only on his dinner break and then going back to work for a 10-44 lunch/dinner. Otherwise, they would have simply said he was going home. Never do they tell what someone is going home for, unless it is with the intent to come back. So, for that line alone, I do not believe he was off-duty, or at least completely off-duty; I think he was merely on his lunch/dinner break. To support this as a line of duty, it said, "He complained of feeling badly" during the trip, or rather "while going home," and "wanting to lay down for a while." This was said during the trip home and is an indication that he was feeling sick while on the job. He was going home for dinner and should have gone back. However, he was so sick that he wanted to lay down. A doctor was summoned, responded, and gave him a good prognosis. He of course died not long after the doctor left; the wording in the article lets us know the heart attack that took his life began while he was on his way home for his dinner break while he was still on the job and in service. Given the "To and From" for a line of duty, to us it seems he died while on his dinner break during his tour of duty, and therefore this should have been listed as a line of duty or on-the-job death.
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More Details
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| End of Watch | 7 July 1918 |
| City, St. | 1411 Patapsco street |
| Panel Number | N/A |
| Cause of Death | Heart Attack |
| District Worked | Southern |
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