Kessler, SSG John, of Sacramento, CA, died on February 15, 2015 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He was 35 years old. SSG Kessler was born on April 11, 1979 in Sacramento, CA. He was a member of ROTC while attending high school at McClatchy and graduated in 1997. He worked for Vic's Ice Cream and Q-Zar Laser Tag for many years. Anyone who knew John knows how much he loved both of those places. After high school he began working for FedEx before joining the US Army in October 2003. John was stationed at Fort Wainwright, AK, from 2004-2009 where he deployed to Iraq for 16 months with the 172nd SBCT where he drove a Stryker for now Major General Shields. Next he was stationed at Fort Knox, KY, from 2009-2012 and was deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months with the 1-26th where he was the NCOIC for the company level intelligence group called COIS. John has been stationed at Fort Myer, VA, since 2012 with The Old Guard and was tasked with training new soldiers for memorials at Arlington National Cemetery. Whether he was driving a Stryker, collecting intel or training soldiers John always gave 110% of himself to the mission. He strived for perfection, and would accept nothing less from himself. He was a true soldier in every sense of the word. SSG John Kessler is survived by his wife Chelsea, son Aric, and daughter Alison; his parents John and Kathy Kessler; his sister Carmel Pauly and his nephew Layne; his father-in-law and mother-in-law John and Sharlene Borba; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Bryce and Taunya Mastin and his nieces Lily, Brooke and Ava; and many family and friends. John always had a smile on his face. He was always there to help, lend a hand or share a joke. He was a practical joker at heart and shared many a prank with friends. He loved to spend the summers BBQ'ing, smoking a cigar and enjoying a cold beer with friends and family. He spent most of his spare time helping with the family motorsport company producing monster truck events up and down the West Coast. He was a lifelong wrestling fan and had many heated discussions with friends about what group was better, WWF or WCW. He was an amazing father and loving husband. Memorial services for John will be held at George L. Klumpp Chapel of Flowers, 2691 Riverside Boulevard Sacramento, CA on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11:00am followed by military honors at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John's name to Autism Speaks or The Ronald McDonald House Charities. Both organizations were important to John and have helped so much with his son Aric.