Military Surgeon

Health Care leader

Instrumental in bringing hospice care to Grant County

Social Activist

Philanthropist

Dr. Fisher was raised in Marion and graduated from Marion High School in 1949. His father was a physician-surgeon and his mother was a nurse anesthetist. During his sophomore year at MHS, he went out for the football team, but his experience was short lived; he could not find a uniform that fit! He participated in the school band and held first chair in the trumpet section for two years. Dr. Fisher was allowed to leave school to play taps for the American Legion when they buried WWII casualties. He also organized a German band that played during street fairs in Marion.
Dr. Fisher earned a merit scholarship to Taylor University. He left Taylor University after 2 years to complete pre-med requirements at Ball State University in Muncie. After three years of pre-med he entered Indiana University, ultimately achieving an MD degree from Indiana University in 1956. He enrolled in the United States Navy and had an internship at the U. S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, California and surgical residency at the U. S. Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia for four years. From 1962-1963 he was assigned to Project Mercury. His job was to be aboard a recovery ship for a pickup, evaluation, treatment and debriefing if an astronaut landed in the area. He also was aboard an amphibious carrier with 3,500 U. S. Marines during the Cuban Crisis. Dr. Fisher was staff surgeon at Great Lakes Naval Hospital from 1961-1964 and was Senior Medical Officer at the U. S. Naval Station Hospital, Adak, Alaska from 1964 to 1965. In 1965 he resigned his commission of Lt. Cdr. in the U. S. Navy and returned to Marion to serve the citizens of Grant County as a general surgeon at Marion General Hospital for over 30 years. While there are thousands of examples of how Dr. Fisher made an impact on the lives of Marion citizens, one that he is most proud of is when he, along with Dr. Joe Casey, organized a task force to form a Hospice Organization in Grant County and it became a major care giver for dying patients and their families.
His philanthropic efforts while in Marion are well documented, serving for the Grant County Medical Society and other medical related boards, actively involved with the local Rotary Club, Marion Exchange Club, and serving on the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Fisher has served on the Boards of the Grant-Blackford Mental Health Clinic, the United Way of Grant County, Family Services of Grant County, and The Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and has actively supported Marion High School through the sports and performing arts programs. He along with Dr. Jackson Todd and David Bellamy, were the major financial sponsors of the Ritchie Walton Revue road show that brought Marion High School great acclaim. He has traveled extensively and provided medical services in Africa. He has been an exemplary citizen in Grant County and had an outstanding career as a medical provider in Grant County. To quote Dr. Fisher....“when I found myself in my patient’s trust, my motto became: “Devotion to Responsibility” and I have tried to live up to that motto as well as Rotary’s “Service Above Self”.
In his retirement he has continued to display his leadership abilities in the activities he has engaged, while maintaining a strong moral compass for directing his life. Dr. Fisher and his wife of 60 years, Carol, live in Lake Suzy, Fla. They have four adult children, all following in their father’s footsteps in various positions in the medical field.