Daniel Eugene Fisher

Daniel Eugene Fisher of Thorntown, Indiana, passed away peacefully at home on the evening of Friday, May 29th, one day after his 87th birthday, in the company of his daughter, son, and wife. Dan was born in 1939 in Marion, Indiana to Majorie Olive Hays Fisher and Ralph Merton Fisher and grew up in Rock Island, Illinois, where his gang activities in first grade landed him in the principal’s office. After WWII, the family moved to Greenfield, Indiana, where his parents ran Fisher’s Restaurant for many years and Dan worked as a short order cook, if he was to be believed. At Greenfield High School he played varsity football for three years and in later years passed on his love of the game coaching teams in the Catholic Youth Organization to two city championships. After high school, he briefly entertained the idea of a career in engineering, but both he and Purdue thought better of it after a year or so. He then worked at the US Post Office, where he handled gold shipments with and armed escort memorized all of Indiana’s zip codes and their locations, before beginning his studies in accounting at Indiana University. Near the end of college, his cousin Shannon Schlafly set him up on a blind date with her best friend Carol. Shannon and Carol postponed their planned Grand Tour of Europe indefinitely to accommodate the wedding. After graduation, he joined Eli Lilly and concurrently earned his law degree from Indiana University. He worked in their international tax department for 30 years, traveling extensively throughout Europe and elsewhere. He loved regaling his family with stories of his fancy dinners, visits to famous cathedrals, and assorted travel adventures. He was able to take Carol along on one extended trip, finally giving her the deferred Grand Tour. He was also able to indulge his deep interest in genealogy on these trips, tracking down gravesites of ancestors in Switzerland and Germany. For many years he was the official keeper of history for the extended Fisher family, preparing detailed presentations for every family reunion. After leaving Lilly, he worked at Ice-Miller in Indianapolis for several more years. In retirement, Daniel enjoyed his long-time hobby of artisan woodworking, finishing many projects for his family members that they cherish to this day. He was preceded in death by his older brother David Hays Fisher. He is survived by Carol Elizabeth Driscoll Fisher, his loving wife of 63 years; his sister Elizabeth Fisher Smith; his four children Mary Shannon Fisher, Sara Elizabeth Fisher Ellison, Matthew Daniel Fisher, and Kathleen Flanagan Fisher Legge; and his seven grandchildren Caroline, Anna, Henry, Elizabeth, Roxanne, Kate, and Jack. In his later years, Daniel suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, and the family asks that donations be made in his memory to the Rock Steady Boxing Program.