The words “brilliant” and “funny” got a workout at a campus memorial service on Wednesday for Jerome Karl Kessler '08.
The 19-year-old known as Karl died Aug. 30 at his Short Hills, N.J., home. He was the eighth member of his family to attend Union College.
About 100 members of the Union community joined Karl's family and friends in Old Chapel to recall the young man who hurdled a pile of burning pizza boxes at Outdoor Orientation, who proudly taught a professor how to make better fried chicken and who would place a pinky finger at the corner of his mouth (a la Austin Powers) to show a professor that he had understood an important point.
Viki Brooks-McDonald, campus interfaith chaplain, collected remembrances from Karl's friends. She said he was universally described as brilliant, funny, friendly and fun-loving. The man who became known as “Crazy Karl” for his antics during freshman orientation went on to add personality to the “Davidson Dungeon,” where he often led conversations that ranged from deep to absurd, she said.
Bonney MacDonald, who advised Karl and taught his preceptorial and American literature classes, recalled the time he advised her to grill chicken and then fry it. The recipe, which her daughter dubbed Karl's Chicken, has become a household favorite. Karl often made comical (though late) entrances to class, and he exchanged high fives with MacDonald after delivering an eloquent thought on Hawthorne. His papers (sometimes also late) were works of brilliance that weaved together his readings from other courses.
“Karl was the face in the audience I used as a barometer to know if I had made a point,” McDonald said.
Donald Kessler described his son as “a supernova who lived life at warp speed. Everything he did was full throttle.” He and Karl's uncle, Stephen Karotkin '73, both spoke of how proud Karl was to be at Union. “Union is a big part of our family life,” his father said.
A 2004 graduate of Millburn High School, Karl was active in the United Way Club, Mock Trial team and a singing group, the Millburnaires. He also volunteered with New Eyes for the Needy and helped rebuild adobe homes at an Indian reservation in Taos, N.M.
Survivors, in addition to his parents (Donald and Betsy) and uncle (Stephen), include his sister, Jillian; aunt, Nancy Kessler Karotkin '74; and cousin, Joshua Karotkin '02. Other members of the Kessler-Karotkin families are Ed '68 and his children, Hallie '92 and Jesse '97.
Memorial donations may be made to the United Way of Milburn-Short Hills, P. O. Box 546, Milburn, NJ 07041.