In loving memory of Dick Wisler

6/3/1953 - 3/24/2017

Location: Cape May, New Jersey

Visits: 33,148

Richard “Dick” Wisler, 63, of Cape May, NJ passed away Friday evening, March 24, 2017, surrounded by his family, after a brief illness. A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Kiwanis Clubhouse located at 1041 Beach Ave, in Cape May, NJ on Saturday, April 22 from 1:30 – 4:30 pm.

Dick was born in Saginaw, MI to George and MaryAlice (Schill) Wisler of Galion, Ohio and New Washington, Ohio. He was the oldest of 6 children and a constant overachiever. He graduated from Western Michigan University with a BS in Engineering. Dick spent over 25 years in Information Technology, including lead positions in all phases of the systems development life cycle for large-scale systems, as well as network architecture/infrastructure and process management of web applications. In his most recent years, Dick was happy to ease into retirement by sharing his expertise as an instructor and administrator at Verhoef Training for IT professionals. He lived to see numerous technological advances, appreciated most of them, and would have loved to see the great things to come.

His family will remember him as a man with few regrets. He had settled into a peaceful semi-retirement in Cape May and took on projects that he truly enjoyed. He enjoyed riding his 30+ year old bike around Cape May and supporting local community groups through the Kiwanis Club. Nearly every evening he spent listening to oldies while eating chips and salsa on his back deck at sunset. He loved to rise early and take a morning walk on the beach to catch the sunrise. An ideal night was spent curled up in his recliner, with a scented candle and cup of tea, reading a good book on his Kindle. He was a perfectionist and believed if you want something done right, do it yourself. He was a master of all trades. In his free time, he would conjure a stream of projects and find enjoyment in his many hobbies by using his many talents to design and create anything from computer programs to cakes, from home improvements to financial investments, data analytics to landscaping, kite flying to property management. He was often practical to a fault and excessively organized, with a spreadsheet or HTML file for everything. He believed “life is good” and only getting better. When he needed a break from being a recluse, he would spend time with his five young grandchildren (until they wore him out). Dick enjoyed to travel every year, from destinations in Central and South America to Europe and Asia. Dick's long philosophical conversations and emails providing support and guidance will be forever missed by his family.

Dick is survived by his former spouse, Ledung Tran, and their children. Son and daughter-in-law, Thanh and Hong Wisler and granddaughters Audrey and Victoria of Lincroft, NJ; daughter and son-in-law, Ly-Lan and TJ McCarthy and grandsons Balen, Ronan, and Connor of Rumson, NJ; and son and future daughter-in-law, Khai and Hope Savolainen of Richmond, VA. He is also survived by his mother MaryAlice Wisler of Fort Wayne, IN and five siblings: Jenny Sanders of Fort Wayne, IN, Diane Vincent of Schoolcraft, MI, John Wisler of Billings, MT, Marty Swenson of Chicago, IL, and Ken Wisler of Centennial, CO, and many nieces and nephews.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to NJA Nature Center of Cape May, Attention: Gretchen Whitman, Director, 1600 Delaware Ave., Cape May, NJ 08204.