Obituary of Carolyn Fisher

Longtime Ione resident, Carolyn Edith Fisher passed away unexpectedly Dec. 1, 2010 at home. Born Dec. 17, 1925, she would have celebrated her 85th birthday next week. She is already missed by so many. Carolyn was born in Montana, but moved to Napa, Calif., when she was almost 2. She lost her parents at a young age; her mother Clara Ruth Bruesch died in 1939 and her father George Peter Noonan died in 1940. Carolyn and her three sisters went into foster care with a family in Napa at that time. After graduating from Napa High School in 1943, Carolyn worked after high school sewing gloves at a glove factory. It was during this time that she met her husband, David Fisher. The couple met on a blind date in 1945, when David's date for a skating outing was a no-show. They married in Reno on June 27, 1946, and were married for more than 64 years. The Fishers came to Ione in 1958 after David accepted a job at Preston School of Industry in 1957. Carolyn, an expert seamstress, sewed numerous costumes in the 1960s for Helen Kientz's School of Dance, and later went on to sew hundreds of dresses for young Rainbow Girls in the 1970s and ‘80s. She sewed cheerleading uniforms for Ione High School, and dozens of wedding and bridesmaids' dresses. Over the years, Carolyn lovingly created dozens of baby blankets, and many family members and friends have enjoyed her delicious and beautifully decorated wedding and birthday cakes. Carolyn served as a room mother at Ione Elementary School from 1958 to 1978, and served on the Ione PTA and later the Ione Elementary Parent-Faculty Club during that same 20-year span. From 1964 to 1987 Carolyn and David were devoted team parents with the Ione Marlins Swim Team, serving as timer, scorer, meet referee, ribbon writer, and working the snack shack. Carolyn also served as the Sierra Valley Swim League representative. She served as a Girl Scout and a 4-H leader, helped with the annual Ione Alumni Easter Egg Hunt every year since 1979, worked the snack shack at Daffodil Hill to help support the Rainbow Girls, worked ice cream booths at both Ione Homecoming and the Amador County Fair for various youth groups, and even worked the Amador County Fair's hamburger booth for Ione's PTA in the 1960s. In years past, Carolyn enjoyed cheering on the teams at Ione High School, and later at Argonaut High, eventually traveling to Nebraska in 1993 to watch their grandson play in the College World Series. More recently, she was a regular spectator at her grandsons' weekly youth soccer games at Howard Park. An avid traveler, Carolyn visited Canada, Mexico and all 50 U.S. states in her lifetime, 49 of which she traveled to in the same car. She loved camping throughout California with her family. And, regardless of the weather, her daily walk downtown with her husband was an everyday occurrence - a sight many Ione residents will miss. Survivors include husband David Fisher of Ione; son David Fisher of Ione; daughters Kathleen Thomas and Patti Fisher-Misuraca, both of Ione; grandchildren David Fisher Jr. of Columbus, GA, Michael Fisher of Strathmore, Gary Thomas II of Lakeside, Reggie Misuraca and Nigel Misuraca both of Ione; sisters Mary Pieratt of Pleasant Hill, Janet Clark and Elizabeth Reynolds, both of Napa; great-grandchildren Cassandra Broyles, Amanda and Krista Fisher, Jaden Heintschel, Shane, Drake, Bailey and Chase Fisher, Tatum, Taylor and Tre Thomas, and great-great-grandson Michael Amado. She was preceded in death by a son Danny in 1950. A memorial service will be held Friday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. at Daneri Mortuary in Jackson. Inurnment will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 100 Bush Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94104.