Obituary of Karl Alois Gasser

Karl Alois Gasser was born on February 1, 1932 to Karl Gasser and Martha Vogler in Lungern, Kt. Obwalden, Switzerland. He grew up in Lungern working on small farms and later in the Luzern area. In January 1955 he immigrated to America to the home of his Aunt Marie and Uncle Tony Kaufmann in Norwalk, CA. He worked on different dairies in the L.A. area and then for 12 years on the Julius Hofer Dairy in San Diego. In 1972 he married Lupe Espinoza and lived in the Ontario area. There he worked at Chaffee College as a groundskeeper for 20 years, which he thouroughly enjoyed and always said it was the best job he ever had. In 1994 he and Lupe moved to San Jacinto, CA. Lupe passed away in 2001. 

In 2004 he met MaryAnn Ackerman and they married on February 4, 2005, first living part time in California and part time in Washington, eventually permanently in Washington. Karl and MaryAnn were married 18 years. They both enjoyed travelng, making many trips to Switzerland and especially enjoyed Susie Beeler's tours and cruises. He enjoyed meeting his new family and all the Swiss friends, dances, card games, and the Wednesday work crew at the Swiss Park. Washington reminded him of his beautiful home, Switzerland. He leaves behind wife MaryAnn, brother Josef Gasser, sisters Vreni VonRotz, Clara Burki, many cousins in Switzerland, and Marie Binggeli and Fredy Kaufmann in California, 5 step-daughters, Lida Espinoza, Rose and Todd Collecchi, Trudy and Randy Morey, Kathy Ackermann and Bruce Mitchell, Annie and George Molina, 6 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and 8 sisters-in-law. Karl will be remembered for his strong faith, kind heart and a love for his family and his beloved homeland.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of the organizations listed below:

Swiss Men Society Scholarship

Swiss Sportsmen's Club of Tacoma

All Saints