Val (Valentine) Frank Heisler

HEISLER, Val (Valentine) Frank left us on July 31, 2019 in the summer of his 88th year while residing at Chartwell Long Term Care Residence in Aylmer, Ontario. Val was born in Allan, Saskatchewan on July 19, 1931 to Adam and Clementine Heisler, one of six children. He migrated with his family in the 1940’s to Ontario where he married Susie (Susan) Heisler on May 4, 1951.  They first starting their married life working on a tobacco farm where they began raising their son Dan and daughter Cindy. Later, they moved to a dairy farm on the Helka Line until 1969.  Val then went into his own business as A-1 Excavating. Together, Val and Sue built their own house on Highway 74.  There, on Cabbage Patch Farm, Susie worked alongside Val, selling vegetables and raising a host of animals and pets until her death on October 26, 2012. Val was known for his great sense of humor, his many life quotes and his great story telling of life out west or working in the lumber camps.  He was a great conversationalist and had a passion for politics. With limited education himself, he made sure that his children had the opportunity for higher education.  Val himself was always learning as well as teaching others.  He shared his love of country music with his children and, like him, they both learned to play the guitar which contributed to many happy family sing songs. But most of all, as his son Dan described it, Val had “an almost intuitive feel for machinery and could fix just about anything that worked in the first place. He could solve any mechanical problem he ever encountered, often starting with a set of cheap tools and a pile of junk.”  Val was always there to help his children or his neighbours with their mechanical issues and thrived on the challenge. In his last years, Val suffered from the effects of Parkinson’s, macular degeneration, kidney and heart disease and yet he lived each day to the fullest, playing the cards he was dealt with dignity and humor. Throughout his deteriorating health, his strongest support and constant advocate was his loving daughter, Cindy.  To his last days, he also continued to show his fatherly devotion to her, worrying about how she was coping with his declining health. He treasured his visits to Cindy’s country home where he could sit on the porch and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the fresh air. He will be missed by his daughter Cindy Eveland, his daughter in law, Joh (Johanna) Heisler, his granddaughter, Jessica Heisler and his great grandson Danny Wheler. Val is also predeceased by his son Dan, who passed away in 2009, and brothers Pat (Bernard) and Bert.  He is survived by his sister Joyce Collins and youngest brothers, Vic and Grant. Special thanks to Dr. Shiedow of the Ivy Eye Clinic for giving Val the gift of sight in his last golden years.  Many thanks also to Dr. Moist, Dr.Kay, Dr Rubiyyat and to the staff at Chartwell Aylmer Long Term Care Residence for their caring and compassion. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations to the Kidney Foundation or the Parkinson’s Foundation in his memory.