Karl Wyssen
World Staff
Feb. 02, 2012
Karl Wyssen
Leavenworth, WA
Karl Wyssen, 82, a 35 year resident of Leavenworth, WA, went to be with his Heavenly Father on January 19, 2012. Karl had been ill with a cerebral hemorrhage since August 22, 2011. He and his wife, Judy, were able to fly to their winter home in Fredericksburg, TX before Christmas. He wanted to return to Texas, have a warm sunny day at home and pass on with loved ones by his side. He got his wishes. Karl was born December 9, 1929, in Frutigen, Switzerland. He was the son of Killian Wyssen and Rosa Inniger Wyssen and was the second of 14 children. He was born and raised on an alp called Linter. The family were farmers. They lived in a high house during summer and a lower house in the winter. They raised cattle and would take them up to graze on a higher alp during the summer months. Karl spent several summers at the alp, tending to the cattle and making cheese, which would sustain the family through the year. Karl finished school at the age of 16, then advanced to trade school and studied mechanics in his uncle's factory, the Wyssen Cable Crane, in Reichenbach, Switzerland. His uncle was developing a cable system to transport logs from a steep mountain hillside to a landing at the bottom of a valley. After a few years, they had a long span logging system in operation in a valley near Reichenbach. In September 1954, Karl, his uncle and cousin, Huldreich Schmid, came to the United States to test the skyline on bigger timber. They had a contract with the Forest Service in Twisp, WA. The equipment proved successful and in 1961, Huldreich and Karl formed a partnership, Swiss Skyline Logging. They have logged in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, British Columbia and as far away as New Zealand. Karl and Judy belonged to the Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene, where they were married over 30 years ago. He was a member of the Swiss Club Helvetia of NCW and Monroe Swiss Club.
Survivors include his wife, Judy Wyssen of Leavenworth; his children, Laura Smith, Lisa (Daniel) Maki-Cruz, Rena (Dave) Turner, Virginia Wyssen, Henry (Kris) James and Susan Wyssen; his siblings, Margrit Steiner, Marie (Fritz) Schmid, Hans (Emma) Wyssen, Jakob Wyssen, Edward Wyssen, Susi (Ueli) Wafler, all of Frutigen, Switzerland and Werner Wyssen of Kandergrund, Switzerland; his sisters-in-law, Betli (David) Wyssen of Beatenburg, Switzerland and Olga (Samuel) Wyssen of Frutigen, Switzerland; and his aunt, Elsi Graf, also of Frutigen, Switzerland.
Friends who wish, may make a memorial donation, in Karl's name, to the Skyler Roehrick Benefit Fund at any Cashmere Valley Bank Branch. Services were held January 27, 2012. Ward's Funeral Chapel, Leavenworth, is in charge of the arrangements.
