Philip John Fisher

1919 - 2006

Philip John Fisher, March 28, 1919-March 30, 2006. Son of Philip Roy and Georgina Arostegui Fisher. Hailing from Freehold, NY, engineer, inventor, and environmentalist Phil Fisher combined a colorful and unique personality with a strong scientific background to create a life filled with friends, romance, and adventure. A WWII veteran, Phil attended RPI and worked for many years designing and building machinery. He owned Karen-Marks Inc., an automotive engine repair shop. He also worked for National Lead and General Electric until rheumatoid and osteopathic arthritis forced him into an early retirement. Phil's hobbies were diverse--stock-car racing, writing, photography, fishing, and designing machine-tools, bicycles and sound systems, to name a few. Phil was probably best known for his avant-garde lifestyle and his eclectic taste in art and music. The personal stereo sound system he built was well-known by local music aficionados, who would often visit and be greeted by Phil shouting enthusiastically over the music, "Sit down and tell me how this sounds!" followed by a lively discussion on his latest efforts tweaking speaker components to achieve the best "live" sound possible. His passion for music and that "live" sound prompted his invention of the "Rings of Saturn," an enhancement for CD players. Phil had five children--Mark, Karen (who died in 1969), Gretchen, Helen, and Nancy, as well as many grandchildren, and friends too numerous to mention. He was a man who was greatly loved, and he will be greatly missed by us all.