Neal Rupert Fisher

In Loving Memory of NEAL RUPERT FISHER#1> "I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug--If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter." - The Hippocratic Oath Neal, age 85, died peacefully on October 14, 2005 surrounded by family in his Covina, California home. He was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania on January 25, 1920 to William Fisher and Gertrude (Clark) Fisher. A gentle and humble man, Neal was loved by all. Neal's family moved west to California when he was one year old. As a child, he sold the Saturday Evening Post door-to-door in Eagle Rock where he and his older brother Bill grew up. In 1937, he graduated from Eagle Rock High School and went on to Occidental College where he graduated Phi Bet a Kappa in 1941. He then enrolled in the U.S.C. School of Medicine and, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, participated in an accelerated U.S. Army medical program designed to provide increased numbers of military doctors. Neal thus completed an entire four-year medical school curriculum in two and one-half years, graduating in 1944. The next year, he married his Occidental College sweetheart, Eleanor ("Rickey") Aldrich. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 2, 2005. Neal served as a physician in three wars - WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His two oldest children, Susie and Greg were born while he was stationed in Hawaii following WWII. His youngest son, Mark, was born while he was stationed in Texas, where he became Chief Resident during a three-year surgical training program at Fort Sam Houston. After his three children were born, he was separated from his family for one-year, serving in Korea as the Commanding Officer of the 45th Mash surgical unit during the Korean War. Neal left the service in 1954 as a Lt. Colonel and settled his family in Covina where he practiced medicine for forty years with his loyal nurse Daisy Beasley by his side. Active in the Covina community, Neal served as the Senior Warden at the Covina Holy Trinity Episcopal Church for several years. In 1967, with his youngest son still in high school, Neal closed his Covina medical practice and voluntarily served in Vietnam where he taught American military doctors and treated war casualties, both military and civilian . The Wall Street Journal and Life magazine featured articles about Neal's selfless dedication in Vietnam. When asked about his Vietnam experience, his fondest memories were of the village children that he cared for - his most difficult memories were of "operating all night long." Much to the delight of his patients, after his service in Vietnam, Neal returned to Covina and reopened his medical practice. In 1972, he was elected as Chief of Staff at Inter-Community Hospital in Covina. He also served on th e medical staff at Methodist Hospital of Southern California and worked on his "off" days at the Santa Anita Race Track where he treated patrons, track employees and jockeys. Neal's passion for medicine defined much of his life. Truly "old school," Neal made house calls, answered the phone all hours of the night, delivered babies, performed surgery, and most importantly, listened to his patients who became lasting friends. A young female resident recently described Neal as "The John Wayne of Medicine." K nown as a stellar diagnostician, he could diagnose with the touch of his hand or figure out the most likely problem while on the phone from thousands of miles away. He treated free of charge those patients who were too poor to pay and combining his love of world travel and medicine, served on medical missions to the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. After his retirement, he continued to serve as a hospice volunteer and enjoyed a return trip to a now peaceful Vietnam. Blind in one eye and with his s ight fading in the other, Neal reluctantly retired in 1994. In retirement, he delved into gardening and fishing with the same passion that he brought to medicine. No longer able to perform surgery, he shared his garden's bounty and trout from his frequent fishing trips to Utah with his beloved former patients. Although Neal could no longer see well, his hands that were blessed with the gift to heal were, not surprisingly, also blessed with a green thumb. His surviving family include his wife, Rickey, his older brother Bill, his daughter Susie (Brad) Shaw of Manhattan, Kansas, his son Greg (Tia) Fisher of Arcadia, California, his son Mark Fisher of Lake Forest, California and his five adoring grandchildren, Stacy, Evan, Rose, Clark and Lindsay. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Braille Institute Los Angeles, 741 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029, www.brailleinstitute.org, 1-800-272-4553. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on November 26 at the Holy Trinity Episco pal Church at 100 North Third Avenue in Covina.