Robert M. Fisher

Robert M. Fisher, 80, of Potter Road in South Conway, passed away early Friday morning, June 30, 2006. He was born September 17, 1925, in Saranac Lake, N.Y., the son of the late Monroe and Corrine (Hooker) Fisher. He married Pamela Trenor on January 17, 1950, in Gloucester, Mass.

After graduating from Saranac Lake High School in 1941 at the age of 16, Bob attended Williams College, and after serving in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator, he graduated with B.A. in Philosophy in 1947. He then pursued a law degree, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1948 with an LLB. His quest for academic and literary knowledge led him to Breadloaf at Middlebury College, where he earned his M.A. in English in 1954. He then pursued his Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of Colorado, writing his thesis on the humor of Thomas Hardy.

Although a lifelong literary scholar and teacher, he was equally passionate about skiing and shared a tremendous love of the outdoors with his wife, Pamela T. Fisher, over their 55 years of marriage. Starting on the modest slopes of Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake, Bob continued his passion for skiing as captain of the Williams College Ski Team.

He continued to compete nationally and internationally, until his 77th birthday. Not surprisingly, his children and grandchildren shared his love of skiing, also competing and excelling in regional, national, and international competition. Some of his fondest memories included watching his wife compete in numerous National Master’s Championships; his daughter Abigail compete in the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria and Lake Placid, N.Y.; his daughter Susan win the Master’s National Championships in Big Mountain, Montana, his son Timothy coach for Dartmouth College and the Ford Sayre Ski Team, as well as his two grandsons, Jacob and Nathaniel compete for the UNH Ski Team.

In addition, he shared his passion for the sport by co-founding NH Girls High School Ski Racing in 1965. After teaching at Wesleyan, Dartmouth, and Proctor Academy, he settled in at Kennett High School, where for 20 years he taught, coached, inspired, and entertained his students with a combination of a keen insight into English and American Literature, a fascination for creative writing and poetry, and a remarkable ability to mix his love of guitar playing, theatrics, drama, and humor into his classroom.

He and his wife, Pam, shared a love of all things out of doors. In addition to ski racing, he and Pam traveled extensively around the globe, many times via bicycle or by foot.

Having traveled to every continent, Pam and Bob shared adventures (and some misadventures) in Australia, Nepal, Africa, South America, Europe, and virtually every corner of North America. When not skiing, bicycling, or globe-trotting, they shared their love of gardening, fly fishing, tennis, sailing, and most recently, golf. In addition, it is widely rumored that the term “power napping” was invented by Bob.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela (Trenor) Fisher of South Conway, a son, Timothy Fisher, and his wife Prudence of Lyme, N.H., three daughters, Susan Rose and her husband Robert Rose of Stowe, Vt., Abigail Fisher-Gould and her husband Frank Gould of Sun Valley, I.D., and Megan Graham of Scituate, Mass., and his grandchildren, Jacob Fisher, Nathaniel Fisher, Oliver Fisher, Addie Belle Fisher, Hannah Rose, William Rose, Timothy Gould and Trenor Gould. He was predeceased by a daughter, Debra Densmore.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, July 20, at 11 a.m. at the Fisher’s residence, Swallowbarn, at 615 Potter Road in South Conway, with the Reverend Mary Giles Edes, of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship presiding. Donations may be made in his memory to the Bob Fisher Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Smith Barney, 46 Centerra Parkway, Suite 101, Lebanon, New Hampshire, 03766.