Ralph Adolph Kesselring was born on September 27, 1908 in Malta, Illinois, in the United States. An American of German origin, he came to Malaya in 1930 at the age of 22 to serve as a missionary soon after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. He later obtained a Master of Arts degree from Northern University, Evanston, and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary.

Kesselring’s first assignment was as a hostel master cum teacher in Anglo Chinese School, Ipoh. At that time, Ipoh was a small tin-mining town. He taught mathematics and was well-known for being a disciplinarian, especially with misbehaving students who played truant. He instilled good Christian values in many of his students who were eventually transformed into “angelic beings so absorbed in their studies”.^[1] His love for God drove him to invest all he had in these students’ lives and in 1939, at just 31 years of age, he was promoted to be principal of the school. 

Kesselring married Florence Kleinhenn in 1935. She had come as a missionary to serve at Nind Home in Singapore in 1932 before moving to Ipoh. Florence was the principal of the Methodist Girls’ School Ipoh (originally known as Anglo Chinese Girls’ School) in 1933-1934 and also in 1936. The couple went on to have three daughters.

In 1940, Kesselring returned to the United States on furlough. When World War II broke out,  he was unable to return to Malaya and was reassigned to San Jose, Costa Rica for the duration of the war. There, he served as the director of Colegio Metodista and pastor of the Union church. He subsequently founded the Union Protestant School in San Jose.

In 1948, after the war was over, Kesselring returned to Malaya to serve again as principal of the Anglo Chinese School, Ipoh. He took over from Reverend Ho Seng Ong. As a teacher and principal, he worked very hard and was often to be seen at his desk from 7.30am to late in the evening. He was immensely popular among the teachers and students. His wife took up the responsibility of a teacher at the Anglo Chinese School.

Both Mr and Mrs Kesselring also took a very keen interest in the spiritual needs of their students. They served as Sunday School teachers and Kesselring even made religious knowledge part of the school curriculum. As a result, the school had a good track record of grooming many students who eventually became prominent members of society.

Under his able leadership, the school progressed both academically and in extracurricular activities. Talents were nurtured carefully and many of his students won scholarships to further their studies in medical colleges, technical schools, and other institutions. At one time, the school produced six Queen’s Scholars and two Queen’s Fellows. In sports, the school produced world-class sportsmen such as Tan Jin Eong who represented Malaya in winning the 1955 Thomas Cup badminton championship and Cheah Tong Kim who competed in two events at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Both Tan and Cheah were committed Methodists.

Teachers working under Reverend Kesselring loved, respected and admired him for his forthright frankness and genuine concern for people. A.T. Balraj in his article “Ralph Kesselring as I knew him” published in The Voyager, magazine of the Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh, recounted an incident where he once heard Kesselring commenting good humouredly, “Come to the point, Bishop, without beating about the bush”. He was also full of energy. The teachers saw him as a modern-day “Good Samaritan” who would go the extra mile to help those in need regardless of their status – whether it was an ailing gardener, an injured school-boy, or a pastor in difficulties. He was a sincere and modest man.^[2]

The Kesselring family always considered Ipoh as their home. On November 5, 1955, a large buffet tea party was held to commemorate the 25th year of their stay in Malaya. About 300 friends, teachers and students past and present attended the celebration to express their gratitude. During the celebration, Reverend Kesselring said that he had found the greatest joy and satisfaction in being a teacher. He went on to recall with pride that he had taught Chew Swee Kee, Minister of Education of Singapore and Too Joon Hing, Assistant Minister for Education of the Federation, among others.^[3]

In July 1957, Kesselring retired as the last expatriate principal of the Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh. Teerath Ram, his former student, succeeded him as principal. After retirement, he continued to spend his time in Malaya serving God as a Methodist church pastor in the advancement of education and the gospel. He strongly believed in the importance of schools and education as a means for evangelism. 

Kesselring was known to be a good preacher too and he preached at various churches in Ipoh. He was the interim pastor for Ipoh Wesley Church for several periods of time and the founding pastor of Trinity Methodist Church at Petaling Jaya where he served from 1959-1962. He held other positions such as district superintendent in Perak, in Eastern Malaya and Northern Malaya. He was even sent on a special mission assignment to the Methodist School in Sibu from 1958-1959.

Altogether, Kesselring spent 28 years of his life serving God in Malaya, the place which he regarded as his “Jerusalem”. On January 25, 1966 in Ipoh, Reverend Ralph Kesselring suffered a heart attack and was called home to the Lord at the age of 56.

Hundreds of people came to pay their last respects to this man of God. He was buried at a cemetery a hundred yards from the Anglo-Chinese School grounds. In a tribute, D. R. Daniel, Methodist education secretary, said, “He was laid amongst those he loved, who revered and honoured him.”^[4]

His wife, Florence, died in the United States in 1992 at the age of 93. She was later also buried in Ipoh, Perak, next to her husband.