Henry Gisler
Farmer, beachcomber, raconteur, grandfather. Born on May 12, 1929, in Rigi Klosterli, Switzerland; died on May 22, 2014, in Langley, B.C., of cancer, aged 85.
Henry Gisler was born on the picturesque Rigi mountain in central Switzerland, where he fostered his love for the outdoors at an early age. The Rigi provided Henry and his younger twin brothers a perfect setting for childhood escapades and hands-on learning. Days were spent trapping small game and conspiring to play pranks. A mischievous Henry once used his Swiss Army knife, which he was never without, to inscribe his name in a pew of their Catholic church during mass.
He was profoundly influenced by his mother's family farm, and wanted to try his own hand at it. But the Rigi provided few opportunities for an ambitious young farmer. In 1956, with his devoted wife Bertha, Henry made a life-changing move to the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.
Through a Canadian Pacific Railway program, they were initially employed on a dairy farm in Mission. Later, they applied their strong work ethic and enterprising spirit to growing produce, working in the logging and construction sectors, and combing beaches for wood that could be milled and sold as fence posts. Nine years after arriving in Canada, they realized their dream of owning a dairy farm in Glen Valley, where they raised three sons and five daughters.
A gifted carpenter, Henry spent many hours in his later years in his wood shop, building furniture for loved ones. His handiness didn't extend to small engines, however; several out-of-order motors around the farm met with his vivid temper and were quickly rendered totally useless.
After "retiring" from farming, Henry established a productive trap line near Harrison Lake, primarily harvesting marten for fur. Closer to home, he did nuisance trapping, capturing racoons, coyotes and beavers.
In his early 60s, Henry fulfilled an aspiration to own a cattle ranch, and he and Bertha moved to the Horsefly area in the Interior. As with all his endeavours, Bertha was a full partner, working alongside him to fix fences across 1,600 acres and tend 250 cows and their calves. That is also how many of his 13 grandchildren fondly recall spending time with him.
Henry had a big personality, a colourful vocabulary and fondness for teasing. He faithfully read the daily newspaper and continued to receive his hometown paper from Switzerland, making him more knowledgeable about events than many Rigi locals. Among his large family and vast network of friends, he is best remembered for his generous hospitality and penchant for an amusing story. Any meal at the Gisler home would begin, and end, with several of Henry's outsized tales – most of which would prove to be true.
An endlessly practical man, Henry told his grandchildren that extracurricular activities might be fun and worthwhile, but they were meaningless if you lacked essential life skills. After one high-school basketball tournament, he asked his granddaughter how her game went, and then followed up by inquiring whether she could make a reasonable soup, one of his favourite meals. One Christmas, some of the granddaughters were given cookbooks, with a quintessential Henry message penned in the front. When life looks really bad, he counselled, "after a good meal it always looks better."
Melissa Stanford is Henry's granddaughter.