Gisela Christa Sloat

GISELA CHRISTA SLOAT (nee KOCH) born May 13, 1936, died December 11, 2023. Predeceased by husband LARRY SLOAT and parents ALBERTUS POORT and GERTRUD POORT (nee SEICKERT). Survived by daughter SHAROLYN SLOAT (Isabel MacKinnon), sons G. ARDIE SLOAT and BRYAN SLOAT, grandchildren MADDISON SLOAT (Brad Franklin) and BENJAMIN SLOAT (Molly Reid), and great-grandson REDMOND FRANKLIN, as well as many other family members and friends.

Gisela was born in Berlin, Germany at the start of WWII, and survived it until 1945 when she and her parents made the journey by foot to Leeuwarden, Holland to be with her father’s family. She lived there until 1955 when she and her family immigrated to Terrace, BC. There she married Larry Sloat in 1957 and gave birth to her 3 children beginning in 1958. Gisela was a member of the Royal Purple, and worked at the Royal Bank and Scotiabank until the family moved to Victoria in 1966 where she continued to work for Scotiabank until her retirement.

Other than her family, Gisela’s first love was figure skating ever since she was a little girl. Because the war prevented her from skating as a youngster, she took it up as an adult and passed her Preliminary Figure and Jr. Bronze Dances. She also participated in ice shows and competed in synchronized skating. She enjoyed being a skating, hockey, and lacrosse parent, and made massive contributions behind the scenes re: figure skating in that she became VFSC President, Vancouver Island Region Chairman, a BC/YT Director, and the Chairman for putting on many international and national competitions here in Victoria. She was also an accountant for many competitions, including her proudest moment when she was an accountant at the 1984 World Championships in Halifax. She received many accolades for her work including Victoria Volunteer of the Year and BC/YT Section Lifetime Achievement Award. Gisela also contributed greatly to skater development on Vancouver Island.

Our mom had a fun-loving sense of humour, a generous spirit, and was honest to a fault… a truly great mother and role model. RIP MOM.

Private interment for family only, and Celebration of Life TBA early 2024.