In Memory of Nils O. Isachsen

This past week one of my uncles died. He was married to my mother's oldest sister and was very much a part of my childhood at the family summer home on Brantingham Lake (pictured above) where we had regular large gatherings of friends and relatives. He truly loved Brantingham. By a strange coincidence, he had known my father since both were boys at Graham School - my father as an orphan and my uncle as the child of a widow who was working at the orphanage. As I have written before, The Graham School, was part of a orphanage system founded in 1806 by Elizabeth (Mrs. Alexander) Hamilton and Isabella Graham. The orphanage was (and still is) located on a 40 acre site in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and employed a "cottage system" of smaller residences with a house mother. My uncle's mother was one such house mother.

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As children, my uncle Nils entertained us with outrageous stories and contraband fireworks that he always managed to have on hand for the Fourth of July each summer. He loved to sail and also gave me my first lessons on snorkeling and scuba diving. During World War II he was an Army medic and was wounded while heroically tending to wounded troops while under heavy enemy fire. He waived his heroism off as nothing, but for his conduct he received the Silver Star, the third highest decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. He met my aunt after the war at Syracuse University which he attended along with my mother, my father and my aunt.

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He had an interesting life and I will greatly miss him. Here is a small piece of his obituary:

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Nils O. Isachsen, 86, died Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at Albany Medical Center. Born in Arendal, Norway, he was the son of the late Nils Isachsen and Katrina Jensen Isachsen and husband of Mary Phelps Isachsen of Troy. Raised in Norway, he came to the United States in 1924.

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He was a graduate of Syracuse University and Cornell University Veterinary School. Mr. Isachsen was a first lieutenant during World War II, serving in the European-African Middle East, receiving a Purple Heart and Silver Star.

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He was former owner of the Troy Veterinary Hospital on Hoosick Road, retiring in the early ’80s. Nils specialized in the care of farm and small animals. He was a member of the Saugerties Power Boat Association. He enjoyed fishing and especially sailing with his wife and family.

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Like the rest of my family, he accepted me fully when I came out.