Greg Fischer, 4/6/2005

No witticisms, no theoretically insightful news commentary, nothing entertaining. No, this is a deeply personal, heartfelt piece of writing about a good man.
Thousands of people die every day. Some of them are passed off as "important"...former Presidents or warlords or mass murderers. Meanwhile, included in the raw statistics are a lot of people like Greg.
He may not have had the impact of say...a Ronald Reagan. But he was every bit as important. He was important to his family, his friends, his fellow church-goers, his coworkers.
When I was growing up we lived a block and change from the Fischers on 17th street. About 1 Sunday in four either I would spend the afternoon at the Fischers or Kyle would spend the afternoon at our place. We moved first to the house Dad lives in now, and not long after the Fischers moved over to Allendale Drive.
Greg was always a tower of strength. He knew how to do stuff...and he was very involved in stuff we kids cared about. He was very good to be around and to learn from.
As the years progressed, he became my Sunday school teacher. By that time I was in I think Junior High. I say without fear of contradiction that I, when it was my turn, was a very good teacher. I was able to hold the kids attention, end discipline issues that had erupted after Greg stopped teaching, and was able to get through to the kids. I still occasionally have people talk about the effect my classes had. But even I admit Greg was a far superior instructor.
He was more knowledgable, had a better temperament for the job, and was somehow able to deal with a class that included Kyle, Billy and myself all at the same time. Think Huey, Duey and Louie only more smart-alecky and less redeeming features.
Greg dealt with us for years, and had a huge effect in molding our lives, our beliefs, our outlooks on life. I don't know if anyone else had the ability to get through to us at that time the way he did.
He was the director for years of Camp Wilkerson. He put in so many hours on that camp...not alone, by any means, but he was the glue, he was the difference. When I look back at defining moments, at defining lessons, he was there for a large share of them.
To my shame and discredit, Greg and I did not always get along. I was and am hard-headed, stubborn, and can be argumentative. But he was always willing to forgive, to talk to me, to work with me.
And not me alone.
When Mom was sick for so many years, Pam & Greg were rocks of strength for our entire family. As one sister said, looking back on the help they were when Mom was dying, when she heard Greg was down, she said, "It is like losing another parent."
And that was a statement made in love. We all love Greg. He has been a good friend, a good teacher, a good man. He worked hard at a job he wanted out of because it was the best thing for his family.
I have more to say, and it is easier to day than yesterday, but it is still hard. Just a month ago, he and Kyle went to Spring Training together. They both love baseball and it was a really good father-son time. Next month he and Pam were going to Hawaii. They were working to get him out of the job he had and into something he loved more.
He volunteered a lot of his time in the local sports community and still more in the radio community. He was just solid, always doing what needed to be done, working to maintain peace and unity.
I am still grieving, but not for Greg. His time, for whatever reason, was chosen to be finished. No, I grieve for his wife, his son, his daughters, his grandchildren, his brothers and sisters, cousins, friends...we will all miss him and miss him terribly.
He may not have changed the course of nations, but he made the nation better by having a positive influence on so many lives. He may not be remembered by all the newspapers but he will be remembered after all that is left of that day's papers is a microfilm in a dusty storage room. He may not have a funeral with thousands of "mourners" there, but he will have real mourners at his funeral. He may not be "important" in the eyes of most of the world...but he will always be important to those of us that knew and loved him.
Greg, we love you. We miss you. Rest in peace. And thank you.