James McFarland Fisher

Fisher, James McFarland
James McFarland Fisher, who followed his father in the operation of a Minot automobile dealership bearing the Fisher name, died Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008, at a health care facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he had been living for the last ten years. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and dementia. He was 76. Jim and his brother Gerald Fisher both went to work as partners with their father at Fisher Motors, Inc., in the 1950s. H. H. Fisher had assumed ownership of the dealership in 1927. Gerald later left the company, and Jim continued as owner until his retirement in 1998. Jim was born April 9, 1932, in Minot, a son of H. H. and Pauline (McFarland) Fisher. Raised in Minot, he graduated from Minot High School in 1950, the salutatorian of his class. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., for two years, transferring to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Following his graduation from there in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science, he enlisted in the Army. He served from 1954 to 1956, and was stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland with a unit doing guided missile research. Following his discharge, he returned to Minot and went to work at Fisher Motors. He grew in the business, from sales manager to general manager and owner. At the same time, he became active in the Minot community, his record reflecting a total commitment to the area in which he lived. He was a member of the Elks and Masonic lodges, the Shrine, and the Minot Y's Men and Curling clubs. As an avid sportsman, he also was involved with the Retriever and Gun clubs in Minot and in Nodak Racing. He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church and the Minot Country Club. He was a leader in the establishment of cable television in Minot, and served a term as president of Cable TV of Minot. He was a director and past president of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce. He served three years as a commissioner on the Minot Housing Authority. He had a prominent role in the early years of economic development in Minot, serving as a director and secretary of the Minot Industrial Development Corporation, the forerunner of the Minot Area Development Corporation. As an auto dealer, he was a member of the Minneapolis zone of the Buick and Cadillac dealer councils. He served a term as the national representative to the Buick council. In 1980, Time magazine honored him with its Quality Dealer Award. He was a contributor to and supporter of Minot State University where his grandfather, George H. McFarland, once was president. For three years in the early 1980s, Fisher Motors was host to an event called the Fisher Good Life Holiday Extravaganza. It was staged at the dealership as a fund-raising benefit for the Minot Symphony Orchestra, a university-community organization. On Aug. 1, 1985, he married Mary Cuddy Probst, who described him as the light of her life. They lived in Minot and in Scottsdale before moving permanently to the Arizona community where they shared an interest in hiking, backpacking, golf and other social activities. For some years, he and Mary also have maintained a summer residence at Detroit Lakes, Minn. He had a late interest in sculpture and pursued it as a serious hobby that resulted in commissioned works for friends. He is survived by his wife Mary; three sons by a previous marriage, Brock and his wife Linda, San Diego, Jordan, of Nashville, and Kyle and his wife Janet, Kenwood, Calif.; stepchildren, Mary Ann Probst, Bismarck, Joseph Probst, Minneapolis, and Paul Probst, Minot; five grandchildren, Beau, Shannon, Hope, Elsie, and Jessica; brother, Gerald Fisher, Minot, and a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Jill Fisher. Funeral services: Funeral Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, at 10 a.m. at Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary, 8555 E. Pinnacle Peak Rd., Scottsdale, with a reception to follow at the Troon Country Club. Memorial service and interment at Rosehill Memorial Park, both in Minot, in the spring, those ar
rangements by Thompson-Larson Funeral Home of Minot. Memorials are preferred to the North Dakota chapter of the American Diabetes Association (NDADA), 1323-23rd St. S, Fargo, ND 58103, or to the choice of the donor.