Camden People - John H. Kolessar Jr.

JOHN H. KOLESSAR JR. was born on June 26, 1927 to John and Mary Kolessar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

John Kolessar Jr. went into the United States Army in March of 1944. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Private First Class.

John Kolessar J. was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on January 13, 1951 and reported for duty on February 1st of that year. During his career with the Camden Fire Department he served with Engine Company 9 at Front and Linden Streets and with Ladder Company 3, North 27th Street and Federal Street in East Camden.

After more than 22 years service with the Camden Fire department, John Kolessar Jr. retired on pension on April 1, 1975.

John Kolessar Jr. made his home at 3618 Westfield Avenue in East Camden. Married to the former Mary D. Mangino, he was the father of two children, John Kolessar III and Sandra Kolessar.

Last a resident of Westville, New Jersey, John Kolessar Jr. passed away on April 19, 2003. He was buried on May 16, 2003 at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey. John Kolessar Jr. was survived by his wife, children, and a number of grandchildren. Mary Kolessar joined her husband in March of 2009.

Camden Courier-Post - February 16, 1952

Woman Gas Victim Saved by Camden Rescue Squad

The hour-long effort of a fire department rescue squad Friday night saved a woman who tried to kill herself by gas.

Police said Mrs. Florence Marshall, 46, of 330 North Tenth Street, locked herself in the bathroom and turned on a gas jet. They added she was despondent because her daughter, Eva, 22, was planning to marry and leave
home.

A son, William, 19, broke down the bathroom door and dragged the mother from the room. Patrolmen John Voll and Harrison Wilkinson were called and
summoned the rescue squad headed by Captains Godfrey Patterson and George Boone.

It took the squad an hour to revive Mrs. Marshall by artificial respiration. She was taken to Cooper hospital and later to police headquarters, where she was released for a hearing Monday on a charge of attempted suicide.

Other members of Rescue Squad 1 are George Baxter, William Watkin, John Mogck, Edward Brendllnger, Arthur Ballinghoff, Christopher Moll, Edwin Decker, Carl Wirtz, Robert Olesiewicz, John Kolessar and Raymond Banford.

		Camden Courier-Post May 11, 1962 Eugene Thornton Gary Auxer John Barry Kelley Nicholas Pavlak - Peter Yecco James Anderson - Albert Weller Winfield Myers - John Kolessar Rescue Company 1 - Engine Company 6 Dr. Gerald E. Vanston - WCAM William Passwater - Mt. Ephraim Avenue Albert Thornton - Emma Thrornton Sewell School - Cooper School Pyne Poynt Junior High Albert Thornton - Jacob Thornton Diane Thornton - Carl Thornton Geraldine Thornton - Cynthia Thornton North 9th Street - Birch Street - Erie Street
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*Camden Courier-Post October 14, 1969**

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Harold Melleby - John H. Kolessar - Frank Deal - Peter Carbone - Edward V. Michalak John Giuliano - Robert Briggs - Alfred R. Pierce - Engine Company 9