In a 1984 article in The Baltimore Sun, Mr. Kessler further related that a child's lace-up shoe had to go through 20 operations before it was completed.
"There's is no substitute, however, for the craftsman," he said.
Eventually, the American shoe manufacturing industry collapsed under the weight of foreign competition from shoemakers in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, Thailand, Spain and the Philippines.
"My husband tried fighting the imports with the other manufacturers but eventually closed the plant in 1989," Mrs. Kessler said. "He had always looked to produce a quality shoe at the lowest price."
Mrs. Kessler said that for years, her husband donated shoes to needy children.
The former longtime Terrapin Road resident, who later moved to One Slade Avenue in Pikesville, was a member of Suburban Country Club, where he played tennis until he was in his late 70s.
He enjoyed vacationing at Bethany Beach, Del., attending the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and dancing.
He was a member of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.
Services were Wednesday.
In addition to his wife and brother, who lives in Pikesville, Mr. Kessler is survived by a son, Sean M. Kessler of Brooksville, Fla.; a daughter, Andrea Jahnke of Rockville; a sister, Florence Yaffe of Pikesville; and four grandchildren.
