Gary Gisselman. Image courtesy: City of Wausau
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau City Council President Lisa Rasmussen says she was shocked by last weekend’s death of Alder Gary Gisselman, who was working right through his last days.
Gisselman just completed a run as Chair of the Council’s Rules Review Committee, which recommended some changes to how the Council conducts its meetings. The full council reviewed those changes last Tuesday in Committee of the Whole format, just four days before his death. “Knowing that he had been [leading] the committee that did most of the heavy lifting, creating those documents, I asked him to join me up front and kind of co-chair that meeting. Just so he could guide [us] through the process of how they got to the wording that they chose and those things. He was such a tremendous help to me in that meeting,” said Rasmussen.
In addition to his other committee assignments, Gisseman also served on the Capital Improvement ranking committee for the city and represented District 5 on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors. Rasmussen said he wasn’t showing signs of age in any of those roles, even after stepping away for two years beginning in 2022. “He was still actively involved in many other things. I think that an active lifestyle caused him to be tuned in to many things [including] local government. He was so insightful and such a quality leader. I believe he missed it during that time [away,] and it was good to have him back.”
Rasmussen will remember him for his kindness, even with those he didn’t always agree with. “What [always] came through was how deeply he valued this community and its citizens, its neighborhoods. He was always interested in making sure people were taken care of. Those values always shined.”
Gisselman died of natural causes on Saturday at the age of 82. Rasmussen said she was informed of his death Saturday evening by Police Chief Matthew Barnes. She began notifying the remaining Alders on Sunday morning. Mayor Doug Diny announced his death in a press release that evening.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
City leaders canceled Monday’s HR Committee meeting. Tuesday’s City Council meeting has also been called off, both due to a lack of a quorum.
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