Henry Brisman
March 18, 1928–January 29, 2023
Six patrollers wearing their red patrol parkas, serving as pallbearers, escorted Henry Brisman to his final duty station on a damp, cloudy April day. They quietly joked that the gravesite at the top of a hill in the cemetery would make a great spot to ski when snow returns next season; an ideal location from which a skier could survey the countryside below. Henry would certainly appreciate the site. As the funeral ended, the sun broke through the clouds. Apparently, Henry was pleased! Henry Brisman was just short of 95 when he passed away after an extended illness in January.
He is remembered as the kind of person patrols appreciate. For 50 years, he was there for the NSP, and for 19 of those years, he was on active duty at Toggenburg in the Central New York Region. He started his patrol career in 1970 at Sterling Forest in the Southern New York Region.
Henry served faithfully and could always be counted upon. Even after giving up his skis at age 86 and becoming an Alumni, he helped at Toggenburg with fundraising and at various patrol events. He received his 50-year pin and NSP Lifetime Membership in 2019 and was awarded the Eastern Division Patroller Achievement Award in 2013.
He came to Central New York in the mid-1990s when he and his late wife, Anne, opened a women’s clothing store in Cortland, NY. Henry started his career running his family’s chain of women’s clothing stores in downstate New York and later traveled New York and New England as a clothing salesman. In addition to skiing, Henry was an accomplished pool player and enjoyed playing golf.
He is survived by five children, three stepchildren from Anne’s family, and his friend and companion for the past 10 years, Debra Hubbard, and her two children. He is also survived by six grandchildren, five stepgrandchildren, and three stepgreat-grandchildren.
Jeff Paston
CNY Historian
