1937 ~ Mrs. Pam Gisler ~ 2024 "Pam, you fought the good fight and finally gained your well-earned angel wings. Rest in Peace."
Posted Oct 6, 2024 | 9:33 PM
Mrs. Pam Gisler of Red Deer County passed away with her loved ones by her side at the Innisfail Health Care Centre on September 28 at the age of 87 years.
Pam was the beloved wife of the late Vern, dearly loved and the rock for daughter Merna. Nurse, farmer, water deviner, heavy machinery operator, financier, wine maker, astute business woman, but especially a true friend to so many people around the world. Formidable, strong, stoic, astute. Her generosity was
immense, opening her home to people from around the world. Pam was a force with a no nonsense presence. She was born in Bristol, Connecticut, USA in 1937 to Margarete and Fred Bourgeois and raised in Alburgh, Vermont the eldest of eight children. It was not an easy childhood and as a young teenager she moved to Quebec to work for her grandmother. Her grandmother’s values of hard work and business sense shaped her own values. At the age of eighteen, she moved north alone and received her nurses training at the Salvation Army Hospital in Lachine, Quebec. At a time where it just was not done by a single woman, in 1961 she and a fellow nurse bought a car and headed west with the promise of a potential job in Vancouver. The jobs in Vancouver proved nonexistent, and they eventually ended up backtracking to Calgary where with now no cash they found nursing positions at the Grace Hospital in Calgary. The plan was to earn some money and head either southwest to Seattle or north to Alaska. However, fate intervened when a coworker introduced her to a handsome young Swiss fellow, setting her up against her better judgement on a blind date which started inauspiciously on a street corner. Not knowing what to think of this good looking fellow with the odd accent she was charmed by Vern and they quickly became a couple. After announcing her plans to continue on to the United States, Vern convinced Pam to marry him in 1963.
In 1964 they bought a tiny, rundown dairy farm east of Innisfail. She was promised she would not have to give up her career or ever farm but circumstances changed and she reluctantly gave up nursing. Through hard work and determination, together over the next thirty years, with Vern’s brother Ernie, they grew Gisler Brothers Dairy into a thriving dairy and crop farm. It was where Pam and Vern raised their family through the good times and bad.
While it was Vern who was the gregarious, outgoing one with the drive to farm, it was Pam who held it
all together, be it running the business side of the farm, operating machinery or supervising the numerous trainees who came and went into her home from around the world, the many visitors who passed through or actually keeping Vern and Ernie themselves in line. Many stories were told, many songs were sung and many laughs were had around the big round dining table, there was always room for one more with a full glass of wine waiting. Pam and Vern retired from the dairy in 1992 to the old McBride farm and built their dream log house. They then spent many exciting years traveling all over the United States, Europe, China, Russia, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, visiting friends and family along the way. Many adventures were had which seemed to quite frequently involve ending up lost somewhere but still somehow finding where they wanted to go, which did not thrill Pam as much as it did Vern.
Family and friends were what were important. She did not give out her love and respect easily but once
gained she was viciously protective and loved you unconditionally. That did not spare you from ‘the look’ when warranted, anyone who received it respected it and will now miss it. The farm became a haven for many younger expat Swiss, Canadians and New Zealanders over the years who always knew they had a place if they needed. Many of the young trainees who worked on the farm or nearby became family with several moving to Alberta and starting their own farms and families in the area. She offered her wisdom and support unconditionally.
These last couple months were hard as her body failed and her independence declined however her mind remained sharp and she was very happy to have been able to stay home, only going to the hospital the Monday before she passed. So many of those who loved her were able to visit and stay with her as she was made comfortable.
A sincere thank you to all the doctors and nurses at the Innisfail Health Care Emergency, Acute Care and
Home Care who saw her on her final days and to the staff of CBI Home Care for their help in her last couple of months. We cannot thank you enough for your devotion, professionalism and care. You are all
a credit to your profession. A special thank you for Dr. Telemesani, Healthy Heart Institute, for his incredible commitment to her care.
Pam will be lovingly remembered by her daughter Merna and her close friends Priska, Beat, Marco, Kevin Fischer, Rene, Carmen, Jesse and Annika Vetterli, Max and Ian Scherrer, Beat, Maria, Martina, Melanie, Lucas and Nicole Zumbuehl, Sally Paradis, Dorothy and Dennis Piquette, Heather and Denys Jeffery (New Zealand), Nadine Schellenbaum and Bruno Lenhere and family in Switzerland, Joe and Margarite Rohrer, Sylvia Lustenburger and family, Hilda and Hugo Sandau and family and so many more. She will be missed by her brother Myrick Bourgeois at Alburgh, VT, and sisters Gwyneth Brown of Alburgh, VT and sister Chalice Bartholemew of Dallas, Texas, along with nieces and nephews and their families in Switzerland and the United States. She was predeceased by her husband Vern, parents and brothers Graham, Vaughn, Albert and Rolle.
A private gathering will be held later in October. A memorial is being planned for June of next year. If desired, Memorial Donations may be made the Salvation Army in Red Deer in Pam’s honor and we ask that a glass of wine be poured and toasted in her honour.
Pam, you fought the good fight and finally gained your well-earned angel wings. Rest in Peace.
Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com. Arrangements in care of: Heartland Funeral Services Ltd., 4415 – 49 Street, Innisfail, Alberta. Phone: 403.227.0006
- Date : 2024-10-06
- Location : (Innisfail) Locally Family Owned (Red Deer/Blackfalds/Eckville) www.ParklandFuneralHome.com & (Innisfail/Olds/Didsbury/Sundre) www.HeartlandFuneralServices.com