He will be missed by so many….
Nancy, Rob, and your entire family -I’m sure we could all write a novel about Mr. Fisher! I am so sorry for your loss. I feel sorry for all of us and yet how lucky are so many thousands of us who knew and loved Mr. Fisher!!! As I write this in North Carolina you are just beginning to gather in Deer Park to celebrate a truly wonderful man who really, truly made a difference in so many lives! I wish I was there with you. I have a candle burning in his honor and am proudly wearing my 1970 Rose Bowl button! I have near me a folder of articles and mementos from that trip and many Boise Drill Team trips, and my senior class album. Playing my trumpet in band, pep band, stage band from 5th grade until graduation and being in drill team from 7th grade until graduation made school all the more fun! The friendships made, the pride in our school, the fun memories are something I always cherish.Mr. Fisher would try to get us to wear brighter, darker lipstick for performing because our smiles would show up better; explain keeping our white performing tennis shoes in plastic bags to keep them clean; show us a sequence of steps; design routines for the band and drill team; and always lead so that you wanted to learn more and perform better for such a wonderful man. (and we all remember looking around first to see if he was in the area before we hit the snack machine!) I cannot imagine the organization and planning behind taking so many of us to Pasadena for the 1970 Rose Bowl Parade. Few of us had ever flown. I sat next to Maria Conchita Alonso and she held my hand on take-off. It was an experience of a life time — seeing palm trees, staying in the UCLA dorm rooms, marching in the parade and as a freshman getting to play 1st trumpet music (I still have my trumpet and music), march in the Disneyland parade, spend a day in Disneyland. My brother, Kevin, and sister, Laurie, were fortunate to get another trip of a lifetime by being in band for the trip in 1976 to Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York. Mr. Fisher helped find the King trumpet that my parents gave me! I was fortunate enough to see both Nancy and Ken this past July and have a fun, great conversation and catch up a bit!I was Drill Team Captain my senior year (1973) and a High Stepper Soph., Jr. & Sr. years. That year we won several trophies in Boise: 1st in Parade, 2nd in showmanship, and 2nd Over-All. How fortunate I was to be the one to run down all the steps from our high perch in the stands and across the gym floor to collect each trophy. We were wild with joy and excitement!!! On my way back with the 2nd Over-All trophy there was Mr. Fisher standing in one of the stairwells with tears running down his face. We had one great, joyous hug and he said he’d waited so many years to beat some of those teams. He inspired us so and we all loved him so! Marching in parades, riding the buses, singing silly songs, giggling of course, and performing — just the best fun!!! I can so clearly picture him with his jaw moving from side to side and his foot keeping time with the music. And that smile lit up a room!My thanks to you, his dear family, for sharing him with so many for all these years. He is with your beloved Brooke now and will be missed. Again, my most heartfelt sympathy, thoughts and prayers to your family. – Karen Shaw Sessions