Peter Willard Fisher

FISHER, Peter Willard - Respected attorney in San Francisco and Marin County, longtime resident of Ross and Tiburon, died August 5, 2005 of lung cancer. He was 78. A renowned litigator in San Francisco with 54 years of experience, Mr. Fisher was a founding partner of Fisher & Hurst, a highly respected and active law firm in San Francisco. An attorney of Counsel with the Marin law firm of Brayton-Purcell since 2002, his legal expertise included construction law, aviation law, architectural and engineering malpractice, medical malpractice and insurance defense. Mr. Fisher was a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the Association of Defense Counsel. He was recognized in 2003 by the State of California for his distinguished service as counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Price Manipulation of the Wholesale Energy Market. Born in Alameda in 1927, he received a B.S. degree in civil engineering from UC Berkeley in 1944 and an L.L.B. from UC's Hastings College of Law in 1951. While at Hastings, he was associate founding editor of the Hastings Law Journal, the author of its Case Notes and received the prestigious Order of the Coif. He served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet from 1944-45 and as a Lt. JG legal officer in the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps from 1952-54. An active sailor in his early years and always a man with many friends, Mr. Fisher was a member of the St. Francis Yacht club, the Bohemian Club, Pacific Union Club and Commercial Club in SF. Peter had a colorful, fun-loving personality that delighted and amused everyone who knew him. He had wide-ranging interests, a keen observant intellect and an inquiring conversational nature. His warm and generous spirit was an inspiration to both his colleagues and his friends. He used to tell the attorneys at his firm "A lawyer should have broad shoulders so he can take on all this client's burdens and solve all his problems." It was an attitude with which he blessed us all. When he wasn't giving his all to his clients he could be found rooting for the 49ers however badly they were doing, playing poker with a group of good friends, telling stories and jokes over a good meal, or just smoking his beloved Pall-Malls out on the deck overlooking the Bay. He had it all. And he'll be greatly missed. Peter Willard Fisher was a dedicated, disciplined professional, a genuine caring friend and a devoted husband, father and grandfather. We are all the better for having known him. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Charleen; his three sons, Peter, John and David; and his granddaughter Olympia. Private services were held. Burial followed at Golden Gate National Cemetery. Contributions can be made to Hospice of Marin in lieu of flowers.