Annette K. Fessel

Annette Keeler Fessel, 90, of Alexandria, VA, passed away on July 14. She is predeceased by her husband, Eric Fessel. She was the daughter of Owen Floyd Keeler and Georgia von Roy Keeler of Bedford. Mrs. Fessel grew up in Bedford and was valedictorian of her class at Bedford High School. After graduating, she attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, then took a position in Washington, DC, with the US War Department, where she met her future husband, Eric Fessel. Eric was from Odense, Denmark, and joined the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War. They were married at St. John’s Episcopal church in Bedford. The Fessels spent over 20 years in Japan, where Mr. Fessel was employed by Mobil Oil Company. After his retirement, they returned to Bedford where they purchased and restored “Fancy Farm�, an 18th century plantation house in the Kelso area in the north side of Bedford County. In 2004 she moved to Rockville, Maryland and in 2005 to Alexandria, Virginia. Mrs. Fessel is survived by her children, Peter Fessel, of Greensboro, North Carolina, David Fessel, of Rockville, Maryland, and Diane Downey, of Alexandria, Virginia, four granddaughters and one grandson. A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. on August 18 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bedford. Those who wish to make a donation in her memory can consider the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.