Theodore Fisher

Theodore (Ted) Fisher
1923 - 2020
Theodore R. Fisher
Theodore (Ted) Roosevelt Fisher was born on the family farm, Knob Noster, Johnson County, Missouri on January 3, 1923. He died peacefully at his home in Columbia, MO on October 12, 2020, after a long battle with multiple myeloma.
Upon graduation from Knob Noster high school in 1940, Ted worked on the family farm, then enlisted in the Air Force Cadets in 1943 where he trained as a fighter pilot, and later retired from the reserves as a Major. When the war ended, Ted returned to the farm and gave flight lessons at the Sedalia Municipal Airfield. It was there that he met Virginia (Ginny) Lee Slusher, of Dover, MO, married in 1946, and moved to Columbia, MO where both attended MU. They had two sons, Michael Lee Fisher, and Larry Ray Fisher.
Ted obtained his BS degree in 1950, a MS degree in 1951, and a PhD in 1962. After his Master's, Ted worked as a fisheries biologist for Missouri Conversation Commission and as an agronomist for Pacific Borax.
Ted was employed by University of Missouri in 1957 where he worked as a soils researcher and Associate Professor in the Department of Agriculture. Ted and his colleagues at MU enjoyed annual float trips on the beautiful rivers of rural Missouri. Ted lived in India in 1972, where he helped establish a soil testing laboratory for the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India.
When Ted retired, he moved to Arrow Rock, MO and served the historic village in many capacities. Ted was especially proud of two important projects to which he dedicated his time: the Lyceum Theatre and Arrow Rock's black history. He purchased and later gifted the village with some notable historic buildings special to Arrow Rock's history.
Ted met his wife Julia Ann Lovin Fisher in Arrow Rock, married on October 15, 2004 and established a home in rural Boone County. The couple enjoyed many common interests and traveled extensively. But their favorite place was home where together they enjoyed their acreage, fished, swam and ice skated on their pond, established an garden and orchard, planted native trees, and converted approximately five acres of fescue pasture to native plants as a nature sanctuary.
Preceding Ted in death were his parents, his three siblings, Mary Lee Fisher Poese, James William Fisher, and Ruth Elizabeth Fisher Tresenriter, wife Virginia Lee Slusher Fisher, and his son Larry Ray Fisher.
Ted was known for his intellect and curiosity, his many skills and talents, his wit and kindness. He is survived by his wife Julia Ann Lovin Fisher, Columbia, MO, son Michael Lee and wife Wendee Jane Walker of Napa, California, granddaughters Lindsey Marie Fisher, Chicago, Illinois; Allison Leigh Fisher Blake, Leawood Kansas; and Emily Elizabeth Fisher Harrison, Santa Rosa, California; stepdaughter Jessica Ann Bivens and partner Timothy Charles Gibbons, and her two children Adelaide Rose and Drew Michael, Columbia, MO; stepson Michael Kelly Clancy and his wife Kirsten Lee Barker Clancy, and their son Branch Kelly, Rifle, Colorado; numerous nieces and nephews, and four great grandchildren.
Memorials are suggested to Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Columbia Audubon Society, and Missouri Native Plant Society.