Doris E. Kessler

Former Carroll County Treasurer Passes

Kessler, Doris E. (Gorman) age 100, passed from this life to eternity on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Doris, daughter of Allen Thurman DeNio and Marjorie Louise Schroder, was born on her family’s farm in Galt, Iowa, on May 28, 1924.

Doris attended grade school at Blaine Twp. No. 8, and graduated from Dows High School in 1940, then attending Drake University.

She married Howard (Huck) Bertram Gorman in 1945, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1948 they moved to Savanna, IL to start the Stransdale Airport (now the Savanna Tri-township Airport) where they resided for 27 years until Huck’s death in 1975.

Doris married Charles (Chuck) Kessler in 1978, moving to Mt. Carroll.

A working woman of the WWII era, Doris was employed as a secretary for Iowa Engineering in Cedar Rapids, where she had the honor of being elected queen of Cedar Rapids Industry. In the 1960’s Doris served as Executive Secretary of the American Red Cross for Carroll County and helped to establish the Carroll County Blood Program. Doris began employment at the Carroll County Treasurer’s Office in 1968 and was appointed Treasurer in 1975 upon the death of her husband Huck, then County Treasurer.

An active community member, Doris belonged to the Mt. Carroll United Methodist Church Naomi Circle, O.E.S., Women of the Moose, Republican Women’s Club, and Chapter GA of P.E.O. She retired from the Treasurer’s Office in 1978 to focus on playing golf, bridge, and enjoying family. An avid seamstress, Doris also enjoyed knitting, reading, and making Christmas ornaments. Maintaining a home was a lifelong joy for Doris, and she was proud to be able to live independently to age 98 before moving to Allure of Mt. Carroll in 2023, where she became the facility’s oldest resident.

She is survived by daughters Linda (Royce) Reed and Patricia (Harvey) Spaulding; granddaughter Sarah (Chad) Sikkema; grandson Andrew; great-grandchildren Quinton, Kellen, and Harper Sikkema; step-children Dennis (Marlene) Kessler, Mark (Jan) Schoening, Barbara (Charles) Jacobs; 11 step-grandchildren; 13 step-great-grandchildren; and two step-great-great- grandchildren.

In addition to husbands Huck and Charles, Doris is preceded in death by her brother Thurman DeNio and son-in-law Harvey Spaulding.

A Celebration of Life is planned for October 22 at the Davis Community Center, Mt. Carroll. Visitation begins at 10:00 a.m.; service at 11:00 a.m. with luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mt. Carroll District Library.