Charles ‘Scoop’ Kiesel, Sr.
Rev. Deacon Charles “Scoop” Kiesel of Fort Myers Beach passed away surrounded by his loving family on Dec. 25, 2013. He was 93 years of age.
He was the son of Charles and Lillian Kiesel, born in New York and moving to Fort Myers Beach in 1950. Among his great loves in life were his faith, the church, his family, and Fort Myers Beach.
He was a founding member of the Church of the Ascension. Among the first class in the Diocese of Venice, he was ordained as a Reverend Deacon in 1987 and served for 28 years. He taught religion classes up until three months ago.
All of his life he loved to read. That is where the nickname “Scoop” originated, from the character Scoop Elery. As a young man on Long Island, he loved to ride horses, and during high school he was a member of the National Honor Society, Junior and Senior class president, student chief of police, captain of the wrestling team and a cross country runner.
Scoop first met his beloved wife, Lenora, while skating at a roller rink. They dated for five years, and were married for 63 years. Also leaving behind to cherish his memory are his three children: Lenora Kiesel Smith (Tom) of New Jersey; Charles “Scoop” Kiesel, Jr. (Lisa) of Fort Myers; and Robert Kiesel (Colette) of Fort Myers, as well as his grandchildren: Travis and Zachery Smith of New Jersey; Charity Kiesel and Erin Durfey of Fort Myers; and Robert Kiesel, Jr. and Collette Kiesel of Fort Myers and three great grandchildren: Elvis, Ferris and Carly, whom have brought an inordinate amount of joy into his life.
During WWII, Scoop proudly served in the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition to serving on the destroyer escort DE320, he was the Chief Petty Officer of his personal vessel that was commissioned to patrol Hampton Bay.
He, his bothers and extended family members were pioneers in the fledgling local shrimp business. Upon retiring from the water, he worked for the State of Florida in the Department of Juvenile Justice for over 12 years, and was chairman of the FMB Fire Commission for 12 years.
Arrangements were made by Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home and Cemetery. Visitation was Sunday Dec. 29, from 3-6 p.m. Funeral mass was conducted at Church of the Ascension at 11a.m. on Dec. 30. Reception followed at Church of the Ascension Parish Hall.
The family deeply appreciates the compassionate care given to Scoop by Hope Hospice. If anyone would choose to do so, the family would like donations to be made to Hope Hospice and/or Church of the Accession, Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Recently Scoop said, that he never thought about growing old because he had no aches and pains. His thoughts on heaven were, “a perfect place, there were no sad thoughts or feelings.”
A true man of God, the last scripture Scoop recited was 1 John 4:16: “God is love, and whoever dwells in love dwells in God, and God dwells in him.”