In Memory… F. David Fisher (1929 – 2010)
It is with a sense of loss that the Ministries and Faith Development Staff Group informs you of the death of the Reverend Dr. F. David Fisher, M.D. He died on June 26, 2010, at home in Wilton Manors, FL. Rev. Fisher was 81 years old.Rev. Fisher was born on March 13, 1929, in Indianapolis, IN, to Edith M. and Edward J. P. Fisher. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1951 with a philosophy degree. After two years of Army service, he entered the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine, earning his M.D. in 1957.
He practiced internal medicine in Marion, Ohio, from 1963 to 1970 before earning his Master of Public Health in 1971 from the University of North Carolina. In 1977 he graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry, followed by a three-year psychiatric residency at Wright State Medical School in Ohio. He taught at the Department of Medicine of the University of Iowa, Department of Medicine of Ohio State University, Department of Family and Community Medicine of the University of Utah, and Yale Medical School.
From 1986 to 1987 on leave from Yale, he served as Mental Health Team Director with Project Hope in Grenada, training Grenadian mental health professionals during modernization of their mental health system. In 1991 he served as ward psychiatrist with Northern New Hampshire Mental Health Services in Berlin, NH, retiring in 1994.
A lifelong UU, Rev. Fisher served the denomination in various capacities. He was Florida District Volunteer Coordinator for the General Assembly at Fort Lauderdale in 2008 and Accessibilities Coordinator for General Assembly in New Haven in 1989. He served many congregations as lay leader, including the UU Society of New Haven, CT, and the UU Fellowship of the Eastern Slopes in Tamworth, NH. It was at Eastern Slopes where he was ordained in 1999 and served for two years as their called minister.
From 2003-2009, he served as choir director in the UU Church of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Rev. Gail Tapscott of the Ft. Lauderdale church said “he was one of the most graceful, gracious, grace-filled people I ever met,” with the “unique ability to live lightly in the world and have great impact…he was a minister in every aspect of his life.”
Survivors include his partner, Paul Alpert of Wilton Manors, FL; his daughter, Dana Ashrawi of Cypress, Texas; his son, Kent Fisher of Columbus, Ohio; his sisters, the Rev. Joyce Pierce of Bon Air, VA, and Marcia Bailey of Ann Arbor, MI; and five grandchildren.
Donations in honor of Rev. Fisher may be made to the UUCFL Sunday Morning Services Special Fund, 3970 Northwest 21st Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309-3627. A memorial service was held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Please send notes of condolence to his partner, Paul Alpert, 1708 NE 24 Street, Wilton Manors, FL 33305.