—by Jeremy Wright
Gisele with her favorite NASL Timber – Jimmy Kelly
Gisele’s family has requested that donations in her memory go to the Timbers Army / 107ist.
We will be creating a Gisele Currier Memorial Fund and all donations to this fund will be used to support a local soccer project in her name.
Donate to this fund now (not tax deductible)
“Probably the only person on earth where people at a football match would habitually have to wait in a line just to give her a match day hug” – Brian Gillespie
It is with a heavy heart and tears in our eyes that we bring you news that Gisele Currier passed away last night (Sunday, April 24th, 2011).
Kind, Smiling, Selfless, Warm, Calming, Funny, Witty, Communitarian, Passionate, Matriarch… our Queen.
These are the words that are being used to describe Gisele today as condolences come pouring in from soccer fans across Oregon, the Northwest and the world.
For many Gisele was the first face you saw at a Timbers match and probably one of the first people you ever met if you tried to get a No Pity scarf. Sitting at the top of 107 in the east corner we would each touch her shoulder, give her a hug or simply smile as we went by. That was Gisele’s seat (and next to it her departed sister Paula’s) and if some unknowing individual decided to stake a claim to it for a match there was an Army ready to gently yet firmly educate them as to why that seat was taken already.
Gisele was more than just a Timbers fan that showed up in the same seat every match. She was a connection from our past to our present. As Clive Charles once exclaimed to her in surprise when he spotted her at a random soccer match in Portland far removed from the bright lights of a stadium: “Gisele! I KNEW you lived for soccer!”
Gisele was at the very first Timbers match in 1975 with her sister Paula. Things were a little bit different back then and the stories Gisele told about her interactions with the players were priceless and truly hilarious at times. She actually hung out with Pele and George Best and was on a first-name basis with many of the Timbers players. She and Paula started the very first Seattle away days and some of the “murky business” she got up to in Seattle was a prelude of things to come 30 years later.
Gisele and Paula in their seats at the top of 107 in 2001
Even when the NASL Timbers folded, Gisele kept the light alive for soccer in the Rose City. Because for her it was more than just a sport, it was her second family.
She supported Clive Charles in his early efforts to get a program going at University of Portland, she was there when Kasey Keller and his infamous mullet wore the Timbers jersey for the short lived WSL Timbers in 1989, and she was there on opening night May 11, 2001 when the Timbers came back to town.
I will never forget in 2004 when I decided to go watch a pre-season Timbers game match at University of Portland at 11:00 a.m. on a weekday in February in the pouring rain. It was cold, it was miserable, and I didn’t expect to see another soul. But as I walked into the stadium there was Gisele. Literally she was the only person in the entire stadium. Wrapped in her Timbers blanket ready for the match to start in what could only be described as monsoon conditions. I got one of her famous hugs and together we shared an umbrella. That was Gisele in a nutshell. Dedicated to the core and always willing to share with you what she could.
This is from a CulturePulp piece in the Oregonian 2006
Gisele was extremely close to her sister Paula. When Paula passed away in 2003 every Timbers player came into the stands and placed a rose on her seat in memory. To this day we try to keep that seat open with a rose on it. Now there will be two seats at the top of 107.
We love you Gisele and will miss you terribly but your spirit will live on in the TA family forever. Every scarf, bead, sticker or blanket you gave to someone is imbued with your passion, love, warmth and fantastic hugs. Godspeed.
Links:
Gisele Currier, Portland Timbers Army ‘matriarch,’ dies – Rachel Bachman, The Oregonian
Gisele Currier: True Supporter Forever More – Brian Costello, Portland Timbers
Gisele Currier: A Timbers supporter like no other – Allison Andrews, soccercityusa.com
