Wolfgang F. Kannler

Wolfgang F. Kannler, 81, of Hartland, Vermont, died on March 5, 2026, surrounded by his family after complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Born on August 3, 1944, in Geisingen, Baden, Germany, Wolfgang was the son of Friedrich and Isolde (Drescher) Kannler. At the age of 14 he began working for a nursery in Stuttgart, where he discovered his lifelong passion for landscape design. In 1965, at the age of 21, he moved to the United States and settled in the greater Boston area. He worked for Heimlich Landscaping and later for Mahony’s Garden Center before founding his own landscape design firm.

Wolfgang married Karen Rauser in 1969. In 1978 they built their home in Hartland, Vermont, where he divided his time between Boston and Hartland while continuing his landscaping work. Karen died in 1991 after a battle with cancer. In 1993 he married Hildegard Spitz in Warner, New Hampshire, and they made their home in Hartland, where they lived together for more than thirty years.

Wolfgang took great satisfaction in working outdoors. He enjoyed splitting and stacking firewood, tending his vegetable and flower gardens, and caring for the trees on his land. He cherished the quiet beauty of the Vermont countryside and was always ready to lend a hand to neighbors and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Hildegard Kannler of Hartland; two sisters, Renate Kannler of New London, New Hampshire, and Brigitte Ungerer of Stuttgart, Germany; a niece, Sylvia Alberta and her husband John Alberta of Enfield, New Hampshire, and their children, Daniel and his wife Megan, and Erich; and a nephew, Andrew Kannler and his wife Tracey Darling of Grafton, New Hampshire.