Robert Sydney Fisher

Robert Sydney Fisher died peacefully at home on Sunday, October 5, 2025, surrounded by loved ones. He was 94 years old.

Bob was born on August 2, 1931, in San Francisco to Aileen Emanuel and Sydney Fisher (A and Syd as they were affectionately known). He grew where the cliffs meet the sea in between his older brother, Don, and younger brother, Jim. Wholesome little boy adventures, and the importance of family formed his character.

A third generation San Franciscan, Bob was a product of the public school system, having attended Alamo Elementary, Grant Middle School and Lowell High School.

At 12, Bob contracted Polio and was quarantined in the hospital for six weeks, not knowing if he would ever walk again. It was a scary time, but fortunately, he made a full recovery though he suffered from muscle stiffness for the rest of his life.

Bob's lifelong love of athletics began in his youth. Topping the list: horseback riding in Golden Gate Park, body surfing at Ocean Beach, and competitive swimming at Rossi pool. When he was 16, he spent the summer as a beach boy at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki, where he learned to surf from legendary beach boy, Rabbit Kekai.

Bob's heyday started in 1949, when he entered UC Berkeley. He joined the DKE house, enrolled in NROTC, and earned the title of All-American on Cal's storied water polo team. Bob was a huge fan of Bears football, attending most Big Games well into his 80's. He often said his greatest memory of his time at Cal were the lifelong friendships he forged.

After graduation, he spent two unforgettable years as a Lieutenant in the Navy. He credited his service for teaching him the importance of discipline and leading by example. Stationed in La Jolla, he fully embraced the beach lifestyle, catching waves on his prized Balsa wood surfboard. He also got his pilot's license around that time; he relished telling tales of flying his nervous passengers on his Cessna. The time he spent below deck where the guns were fired is the suspected cause of his acute hearing loss that afflicted him later in life.

After his stint in the Navy, Bob returned to his native San Francisco, where he worked for his father managing the family office building. He took an interest in construction and built his first house in the City with the goal of becoming a residential developer. One house led to the next, and over the next 25 years, he built more than 1,000 homes throughout Sonoma and Yolo Counties.

In 1966, Bob married Ann Cohen and for the next 48 years, they led an active, adventurous, and glamourous life on the San Francisco social scene. They raised two children, trotted the globe, collected modern art, were patrons of the arts with a passionate devotion to the San Francisco Ballet and SFMOMA, and created a community of dear friends.

Family came first for Bob. His children knew him to drop whatever he was doing when they called. He taught them how to ski, play tennis, ride bikes, work hard and persevere in the face of disappointment. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" he was fond of saying. Creating experiences where his family could be together was Bob's greatest joy. No doubt, his happiest memories were spent on the beach at Mauna Kea surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Bob's company, Fisher Development, took an interesting turn in 1974, when his brother, Donald Fisher, founder of Gap, Inc., asked if he could help build his stores more quickly. With his trademark humble confidence, he responded, "sure I can, I'm a builder." So began a three-decades long partnership in which Bob developed a system of rolling out stores across all the Gap's brands throughout North America and Europe that became a model for the industry. Other major national retailers took notice and clamored to become clients of Fisher. In the late 1990's, Shopping Center World Magazine ranked Fisher the largest retail contractor in the United States several years in a row.

From the beginning, Fisher was a different kind of general contractor, one that directly reflected Bob's values of fairness and transparency, which engendered trust and respect by those who worked with him and for him. Bob's intuition to pivot from retail to other construction verticals proved prescient. In its final decade, Fisher built larger scale projects, tower cranes dotting his beloved San Francisco skyline. Ultimately, Bob knew when it was time to say goodbye. After 51 years in business, Fisher completed its final project.

In mid-life, golf became Bob's singular obsession. While he had moments of glory on the golf course, it was often a frustrating pastime, but his persistent competitive spirit propelled his desire to improve. Mostly, he was in good humor about his abilities, and his true delight was spending time with his chums on beautiful courses.

Bob is survived by his daughter, Sydney Fisher of San Francisco, his son Alex Fisher (Lindsey) of Aspen, CO, brother James of Incline Village, NV, and his four precious grandsons, Cyrus, Rowan, Max, Nick. He joins his wife, Ann, brother Don and parents Aileen and Sydney in the great beyond.

We who are left behind deeply miss our father, grandfather, brother and friend. We will never forget this loving, lovable man.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Bob's memory can be made to UCSF in support of the Cardiology Council. Give online at https://giving.ucsf.edu/ or by check to the UCSF Foundation, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145. (Please note Cardiology Council/B0385)."