Bigfork man keeps active by swimming

Bob Chrysler was a certified public accountant and partner at Chrysler & Gordon in Bigfork for 32-and-a-half years before retiring at the end of May, and his secret for getting through it may have been the vigilance he had when it came to staying active.

Last month that dedication also helped earn him five first-place finishes at the Montana Senior Olympics. Chrysler won the 50-yard freestyle race, the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley all in the 65 to 69-year-old age group.

"It's good exercise," Chrysler said of swimming. "It keeps you in shape. I guess if you're good at something, you keep doing it."

Chrysler's accomplishments at this year's games, which were held in Kalispell, earned him a spot at the National Senior Olympics. However, he said he doesn't plan on making the trip to Houston, Texas, to compete.

When he was growing up, Chrysler was on his high school's swim team in Ohio, which placed second in the state his junior year. He went on to become a member of the Ohio University swim team as well. In college, he placed in the top eight in eight different events in his conference championship meets.

"I'm a good example that you don't have to be coordinated to be a good swimmer," Chrysler said. "I tried lots of different sports and swimming was what I was good at."

To keep his passion for the sport alive, Chrysler enjoys competing in events like the Senior Olympics and the Montana Masters, which he took part in last winter.

"Swimming can be a little dull and restless, but if you set a goal to compete, it can give you some inspiration to keep practicing and stay with it," he said.

This wasn't Chrysler's first Olympics either. More than a decade ago, he also competed in the games when Kalispell was hosting the event. That year he also participated in the 5K run.

Running was actually Chrysler's activity of choice until recently. He jogged daily and participated in several fun runs and triathlons.

"In my job, you sit at a desk all day and during tax season you're in there 60 hours a week," Chrysler said. "Ever since I opened my own business in 1977, my office has always had a shower in it. Running was just a way to offset the sedentary lifestyle I was force to have. Also, I think the exercise made me more alert. I would work for four to five hours and go jog and I would come back refreshed and ready to work Locals may recall seeing him jog down Montana Highway 209 around lunchtime each day.

That routine ended this year during the cold winter months and was replaced with other indoor exercise routines. Then, May 27, he left his career behind as well when he retired from Chrysler & Gordon.

"So far, it's agreeing with me," Chrysler said of retirement. "If it would ever stop raining, that is. It's probably my fault this it's been raining so much."

Chrysler intends to spend his new found free time working on his cherry orchard and traveling with his wife, Bonnie, who retired from Kalispell Regional Medical Center two years ago, to spend time with his grandchildren that live out of the area.

The Chryslers will also do something they've always dreamed of.

"I've never been able to take a vacation between January and April 15, so we're going to do that this year," Bob said.

Although Chrysler is enjoying his retirement, working as a CPA in Bigfork was something he was passionate about. He was one of the longest-running members of the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce, served on state and national CPA boards and earned awards for his work, including in 2006 when he was named "CPA of the Year" by the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants.

"Being an accountant in Bigfork all these years has been very rewarding," Chrysler said. "My business was a service business and I tried to give everyone a good value for their money. Business people are all good at different things. Some get a better use of their time by focusing on other things than government regulations and tax laws. So hopefully we were able to help them in a way that allowed them to have their business be more successful."