Obituary of Gisela Elizabeth Rodgers

September 20, 1937 – Berlin, Germany

October 10, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta

Our family lost a beacon of light and joy on Thursday, October 10, 2024, as Gisela Rodgers passed on to her next adventure.

Born in 1937 to Elisabeth and Karl Krisch, Gisela grew up in Germany during WWII, which was every bit as difficult as you might expect. Despite her trauma from those years, Gisela maintained a cheerful yet grounded perspective in her life. She moved to Canada in 1956 to join her pen pal, Klaus Gemsa, a fellow German who had come to Canada in 1953 and whom she met as a pen pal through a friend. They married and had three children, Patty, Bettina, and Angie. The family relocated from Calgary, AB, to Nanaimo, BC, in 1967, where Gisela revelled in the forests and water around her. Her second marriage to Ken Rodgers in 1983 took place in her dream home, a little house in the woods in Nanaimo, BC.

After Ken’s passing in 1986, Gisela continued to enjoy a life filled with friends and family. Her cozy home was filled with books and music. She was close with her neighbours on River Terrace in Nanaimo, where they all had a tight-knit community. She had a second family with the Wongs, her employers at the Rendezvous Restaurant. Gunnar, Chuck, and Henry Wong made her feel secure and kept her well-fed with their awesome chicken.

Her little forest home was a source of great joy and satisfaction, and you would see Gisela outside puttering around the property as the weather allowed. She loved all the trees and the wildlife, taking care of them all as though they were her own family. She even made a deal with the ants: Stay out of my house, and I promise to keep your anthill safe. By the time she moved away, that anthill was the size of a Honda Civic, and there was never a single ant in her home.

In 2002, Gisela realized it was simply too difficult to say goodbye after every visit with her daughters and grandsons, all of whom lived in Calgary, AB, so she put her house on the market and moved out to Calgary to join the rest of her family.

We were all delighted to have her with us, and her grandsons, A.J. and Christopher, especially benefited from having their Omi around. Gisela joined the Inglewood Silver Threads group, making friends and helping with events whenever she could. She participated in activities in her own 55-plus condo community. She loved to walk along the river or through fun shopping areas with friends and family, taking in sights everywhere and beaming her always-present happy smile to everyone. Of course, she turned her tiny postage stamp of a yard into a wonderful little garden, although this one lacked a Honda-sized anthill. Gisela was thrilled to meet her precious great-granddaughter Isabella in 2023; even while in the hospital, Gisela would melt when the little girl came to visit, and she loved to look at pictures of Isabella whenever the real thing wasn’t there.

Gisela was modest to a fault, waving off any praise or admiration with a “That’s just how it should be done” comment. She insisted we refrain from making any kind of fuss about her in this tribute, so we will honour her wishes. You won’t hear about her affection for pets, how she would take three buses to visit them and bring them sandwiches and toys. Heaven forbid you should learn about the way she drew on her own experiences of loss to support others in their grieving, people she only knew through friends of her kids and grandkids, how she would offer comfort to a family burying a child and witness the life he led, giving hugs and gentle conversation to someone saying goodbye to their mother or their husband. You know, we bet she’d be appalled if we described the amount of support she gave everyone in our family when her son-in-law, Doug Sparrow, battled cancer and passed; would you even want to know of all the meals she cooked for him and everyone else during this terrible time, the advice and support she gave, having been through this herself 30 years prior? Even if you did, we couldn’t tell you about the laborious dishes she made, like roulade and cabbage rolls, just because they were Doug’s favourites, and she knew he wouldn’t have long to enjoy them. You will just have to imagine the steadfast rock she was for those around her, how her unwavering generosity of time and spirit brought light to everyone because she surely would object if we were to mention this.

Gisela’s love for her family wove a thread of light through the fabric of our lives, holding us tight and giving us strength. Left to mourn are her daughters Bettina and Angie, her grandsons A.J. (Marsha) and Christopher (Kayla), and her precious granddaughter Isabella. She was predeceased by her daughter Patricia and her husband Ken.

We must offer special thanks to Paula Guillaume and Dr. Trevor Chan of Beyond Neighbours Home Health and to the attentive staff at Cedars Villa, where she spent the last two days of her life. We also want to thank the staff units 46 and 32 of the Foothills Medical Centre and the Foothills ER. The care Gisela and her family received was above and beyond our expectations. Thank you all.

There will be no funeral service as per Gisela’s wishes.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you please remember Gisela in any number of different ways: plant a tree, feed the birds, listen to music, sing, and dance, whether you are good at it or not. Buy a piece of art from the Leighton Art Centre or buy a piece of art from the Alberta Craft Council, buy a piece of art from an artist local to you (or have it mailed!). Say something good to the people you love, including yourself. If you do any or all those things, feel free to share it with us here! We would love to hear what you did to honour Gisela’s life.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Gisela’s family here.

In living memory of Gisela Rodgers, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.