The Sisler Family | Exploring SMALL TOWN Canada at War

Byron Sisler’s son Jim went on to join the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Daughter Mary became a historian and wrote two books on the history of Markham, Ontario. Rebecca Sisler, a sculptor, designed a Cenotaph for the town of Markham as part of its centennial project in 1967. Titled “The Fortress,” it featured a family grouping, a father standing alongside a mother, embracing a standing child in front of them, and another child perched on the father’s shoulder. In describing the meaning of her sculpture, Rebecca Sisler wrote in 1967: “My basic motive is to convey the need for man to work towards lasting peace. Using a family group as representative of the bedrock from which our society is hewn, I am presenting four figures (man, woman, and two children) as a unit of interlocking solidarity. My thought is to stimulate an impression of the ennobling strength of the family unit, and to convey the idea that responsibility for man's affairs passes inevitably from one generation to another.”

The Sisler Family

Date: Unknown

Image Description:

The Sisler Family, from L to R: Byron, Mildred, Jim, Mary and Rebecca.