Louise "Bunny" Kessler

Louise “Bunny” Prudence Kessler, 83, of Cary, NC, passed away July 7, 2025, after a valiant battle with cancer. She was born June 24, 1942, in Chicago, IL, daughter of Joseph Pusateri and Angela Corradi Pusateri. She relocated to Cary, NC in 2018 and considered Kure Beach her "happy place."

Bunny was a real estate appraiser in the Chicago area for many years. In her spare time, she enjoyed gardening, cooking, shopping, decorating, house hunting, and gathering with family and friends. Bunny’s love for life, sense of humor, and her contagious, outgoing personality touched everyone. She was a devoted animal lover and will be greatly missed by her Shih Tzu, Nellie.

She is survived by her husband, Walter Kessler, daughters, Antoinette “Toni” Dirkes (Jim) and Michelle Calderone Widmann (Chris), stepdaughter, Alivia Foster (Doug), and brother, Joseph Pusateri. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, Matthew and Aaron Pflum, Michael, Maria, Angela, William and Anna Dirkes, and Nathan and Grant Widmann.

A memorial Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 11:00 am (EST) Friday, July 18, 2025, at Mother Teresa Catholic Church in Cary, NC with Fr. Daniel Oschwald officiating and interment at Oleander Memorial Gardens in Wilmington at a later date.  A celebration of Bunny’s life will be held immediately after Mass at Mother Teresa Catholic Church.  Livestream link to the funeral Mass is HERE.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Bunny’s memory be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You may donate online at www.stjude.org/tributes or by mail to the following address:

PO Box 1000
Dept. 142
Memphis, TN 38148

Please indicate “In memory of Louise Kessler” on your gift.