James Herschel Fisher Jr.: Flutist, teacher to deaf students <\/p>\n
Sunday, August 19, 2007 <\/p>\n
By JENNI BEAUCHAMP \/ The Dallas Morning News <\/p>\n
jbeauchamp@dallasnews.com<\/p>\n
Music and silence had equal parts in the life of James Herschel
\nFisher Jr., who played flute for the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra and
\ntaught deaf students in Dallas for nearly two decades. <\/p>\n
“He was just a genuinely good, kind person, and he really did what
\nthe Lord wants us to do on this earth,” said his sister, Jeffie Jean
\nBizzarri of Gun Barrel City. “He loved his neighbor as himself, and
\nhe put other people before him.” <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher, 64, died Thursday at his home in Lancaster after a
\nthree-year battle with lung cancer. Services will be conducted at 1
\np.m. Saturday at Ferris Baptist Fellowship in Ferris. <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from Adamson
\nHigh School in Oak Cliff in 1961.<\/p>\n
He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from North Texas State
\nUniversity, now the University of North Texas, in 1966. Three years
\nlater, he received his master’s degree in education from the
\nUniversity of Texas at Austin. <\/p>\n
After a six-year stint in the Air National Guard, from which he was
\nhonorably discharged, Mr. Fisher returned to school to earn a
\nmaster’s degree in hearing-impaired education from Gallaudet
\nUniversity in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n
In 1979, he began his teaching career in Big Spring, Texas, where he
\ntaught for four years at the South West Collegiate Institute for the
\nDeaf, his sister said. <\/p>\n
“He started teaching there the year the school opened,” Ms. Bizzarri
\nsaid. <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher’s interest in teaching sign language was motivated by his
\nfamily. <\/p>\n
“We have an aunt that was deaf from polio. She was definitely his
\ninspiration,” Ms. Bizzarri said. “She was a survivor and passed away
\na month ago. They were very close.” <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher returned to the Dallas area and taught high school
\nstudents in the Dallas school district for nearly 20 years until
\nillness forced him to retire in 2004. <\/p>\n
He also taught sign language to the parents of deaf children at the
\nCallier Advanced Hearing Research Center, part of the University of
\nTexas at Dallas. <\/p>\n
But teaching wasn’t Mr. Fisher’s only passion. <\/p>\n
“Jimmy had two real gifts. One was teaching, and one was music,” Ms.
\nBizzarri said. “He was like a child prodigy growing up with
\ninstruments. He loved the flute the best.” <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher played first-chair flute with the Mesquite Symphony
\nOrchestra for 14 years before retiring last year. <\/p>\n
“His passion for music was amazing,” said his niece, Amber Beayrd.
\n“Every time I would come over and hear him play, it would send chills
\nup my spine. He was just amazing.” <\/p>\n
Mr. Fisher had no children, his sister said, but his students were
\nthe next best thing for him. <\/p>\n
“His teaching was truly sacrificial. … If he was married and had a
\nfamily, he never could have done it,” Ms. Bizzarri said. <\/p>\n
In addition to his sister and niece, Mr. Fisher is survived by a
\nbrother, Hunter Lee Fisher of Gun Barrel City, and lifelong friend
\nJerry Hartsell of Lancaster. <\/p>\n
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society,
\nMesquite Symphony Orchestra or the Callier Advanced Hearing Research
\nCenter at UTD. <\/p>\n
Link (May required free registration):<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sharedcontent\/dws\/dn\/obituaries\/stories\/DN-fisherob_19met.ART.East.Edition1.4232404.html<\/p>\n
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James Herschel Fisher Jr.: Flutist, teacher to deaf students Sunday, August 19, 2007 By JENNI BEAUCHAMP \/ The Dallas Morning News jbeauchamp@dallasnews.com Music and silence had equal parts in the life of James Herschel Fisher Jr., who played flute for…<\/p>\n