Pastor dies doing what he loved

A Colorado pastor who died while trying to put a Bible on top of a Swiss mountain will be “truly, truly missed,” said family and friends.

Vince Bousselaire, a pastor at Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, and an unidentified 57-year-old woman fell to their deaths on the eastern flank of the Matterhorn in Switzerland last week. Bruno Jelk, who led the rescue mission to find the two after they were reported missing on Thursday evening, said the pair got caught up in bad weather.

“It snowed and there was a storm,” he said.

Both victims were well-equipped for mountain climbing, and the area where the accident occurred is not considered particularly dangerous in normal weather conditions, said Jelk.

“But anywhere can be dangerous when the weather turns and it snows and there’s a fog,” he added.




Experienced climber, cancer survivor

Bousselaire was a pastor at Faith Bible Chapel for around 15 years, and previously worked as a meat cutter at King Soopers for 21 years. The avid outdoorsman took up mountaineering around 1995 and reached the top of every 14er in Colorado, as well as the tops of mountains in Africa, Antarctica and South America.

During Bousselaire’s adventures, he placed a Bible on the highest peak in every continent, including Mt. Everest, said fellow Faith Bible Chapel pastor Roger Gerrard.

“His goal was to enjoy God’s creation and enjoy what the lord has allowed him to do,” he said.

The 53-year-old Bousselaire overcame a fight with cancer 11 years ago, which Gerrard said motivated Bousselaire to be as active as he could. Along with climbing and hiking, the pastor enjoyed biking, kayaking and running.

Bousselaire would often take on extra jobs around the church to help finance his overseas adventures. The pastor performed a variety of duties at the church, including baptisms and weddings.

“Anything he was asked to do, he would jump right in to do it,” said Gerrard.


Denver Daily News

The Associated Press contributed to this report.