Laukischken, Ostpreußen, Germany to Heinrich & Luise Wessler, who
had a clothing and fabric store. She was the third in the family of 9
children. In 1935, the family moved to Schwesternhof, where Heinrich
became a farmer. Gisela had to help out on the farm and help raise her
younger siblings. As the Russian army was advancing in January of
1945, her mother and siblings fled to Pennigbüttel-Wiste in
Niedersachsen, West Germany, near Bremen. Gisela, a courageous
young woman at age 18, traveled during the last few days of the war
all by herself to Saxony to rescue Hannelore and Joachim, and reunited
them with the family. In 1947, Gisela accepted Jesus as her personal
Lord and Savior and was baptized in Bremen by Pastor Fey. She
attended a Baptist Church in Osterholz-Scharmbeck, where she
worked as a church secretary and sang in the guitar choir.
In 1951, the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, and was
welcomed by Uncle Albert and Tante Emma Hass and family. Gisela
became a member of Bethany Baptist Church and later Immanuel
Baptist Church. She worked as a governess for a prominent Vancouver
family. In 1956 Gisela married Paul Stehlik of Detroit, where she lived
until his death in 1961. She then moved back to Vancouver, where she
worked for British Pacific Insurance Company. Gisela had an
unfortunate fall which forced her to leave British Pacific and after
recovering, began work at Flora. Eventually she became church
secretary at Immanuel Baptist Church. During that time she was also
a teacher in the Christliche Deutschschule, entertained many of the
family on Sundays, and took care of her aging parents. In 2001, Gisela
retired after 18 years of secretarial duties at the church. She moved to
South Surrey with Hannelore, where they still hosted family
gatherings, and enjoyed cultivating her many flowers on the outside
deck. Gisela lived at her home until the Fall of 2018, where her failing
heart forced her to the hospital and eventually to Evergreen Baptist
Home for just one day.
Gisela always maintained her faith in Jesus and put her trust and her
life in God's hands. Quietly, in the afternoon of December 29, 2018, the
Lord took her home to be with Him.
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