John Fisher

Fisher, John Wyatt , Jr., M.D. DALLAS, TX - A memorial service celebrating the life of John Wyatt Fisher, Jr., M.D., of Dallas, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, August 22, 2009, at Highland Park United Methodist Church, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, with the Rev. Bill Smith officiating. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, August 20, at Restland Memorial Chapel, 13005 Greenville Ave., phone 972-238-7111. A private entombment ceremony is scheduled for Friday at the Abbey Mausoleum at Restland. Dr. Fisher died August 14, 2009. He was a lifelong resident of Dallas, born July 7, 1925. He was raised on his parents' north Dallas County farm, and graduated at age 16 from Carrollton High School as class valedictorian. He received his BA and BS degrees in 1944 from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Fisher received his MD degree at the LSU School of Medicine in 1948, with the highest GPA in his senior class. The Korean War interrupted his residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He served in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corp from 1950-1952, and then returned to Charity Hospital to complete his residency. He moved back to Dallas in 1954 and entered a medical practice with Drs. Milford Rouse and Cecil Patterson. In 1966, he started his own practice of internal medicine, where he continued caring for beloved patients until his retirement in 1993. Dr. Fisher loved a good challenge, whether it was a bridge contract, a crossword puzzle, or a vicarious tennis match. A lifelong bridge player since his days at SMU, Dr. Fisher was a celebrated grand life master, winning the McKenney Trophy in 1973, awarded to the player who won the most master points in the prior calendar year, which he accomplished while playing only on weekends. His many significant victories included the Vanderbilt Teams of Four, the Grand National Teams of Four, five National Open Pairs, the Master Mixed Teams of Four, and a second in the World Open Pairs. He published a regular bridge column in Medical Opinion and Review, and was the inventor of the Fisher Double, asking for a club lead against 3NT and 6NT. On Wednesday afternoons, following his retirement, he was a regular participant at the Dallas Country Club duplicate bridge game. Dr. Fisher loved to travel in Italy, where he practiced fluent Italian, "la vita è bella". He loved to listen to opera, especially Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, and enjoyed the camaraderie of opera aficionados and supporters. He had fond memories of serving as a personal physician to the late Greek soprano star, Maria Callas. He was a member of the Dallas Historical Society, the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Bach Society, and the Dallas Wagner Society. He was a founding member of the Elsa von Seggern Charitable Trust. Dr. Fisher was a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church for his entire adult life, and volunteered in the Prayer Tower. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, on June 23, 2009, Dr. Fisher made the decision, wholly in character, to spend his remaining days at his Dallas home, celebrating life with his family and many friends. Despite the long preceding illness that hampered his mobility, and the final diagnosis, he never became depressed, retaining his humor, wit and conversation to the end. He claimed a life theme of Alfred Lord Tennyson for his own. From his youth, he was a "part of all that...(he)... had met." His many friends from different arenas, medicine, society, music, opera, bridge, Italy and family, bear testament that "...tho' much is taken, much abides." Dr. Fisher was preceded in death by his parents, John Wyatt Fisher and Catherine Marsh Stalnaker, and his sister, Mary Katharine Fisher Cox, who died August 7, 2009. He is survived by a brother-in-law, Howard Joseph Cox, Sr.; nephew, Howard Joseph Cox, Jr. and niece-in-law Ruth H. Cox; niece, Eleanor Katharine (Kitty) Cox Cunningham; and five grand-nephews, John Pierce Cox, Timothy Louis Cox, Charles Cox (Chip) Cunningham, Austin Joseph Cunningham and Waylon Wyatt Cunningham. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Highland Park United Methodist Church, the Dallas Opera or Southern Methodist University.