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John  FISHER

 

 John Wyatt Fisher jr. nacque il 7 luglio del 1925 a Carrollton una città circa 30 km a nord di Dallas e crebbe in una fattoria  di famiglia.

 Si diplomò nella sua città e si laureò nel 1944 all'Università Metodista di Dallas e prese un Master in Medicina alla LSU di New Orleans dove lavorò presso il locale Ospedale fin quando non scoppiò la Guerra di Corea.

 Arruolatosi nei Corpi Medici, John tornò al suo posto di lavoro due anni più tardi nel 1952 e vi restò fin quando non si trasferì nuovamente a Dallas dove, dopo un periodo di specializzazione, aprì un suo studio medico che diresse fino al momento del pensionamento avvenuto nel 1993.

 Amante dei cruciverba, del tennis e del bridge, si racconta che curò la gran parte dei bridgisti di Dallas e che quando entravano nel suo Studio parlavano poco dei loro acciacchi e molto di Bridge.

 Eccellente giocatore vinse la medaglia d'argento alle Olimpiadi a Coppie del 1966 e, sul piano nazionale 9 NABC, tra cui ricordiamo 4 Silodor (1970, 71, 72 e 74), il GNT del 1975 e la Vanderbilt del 1965.

 John, che parlava un italiano fluente, veniva spesso in vacanza nel nostro Paese.

 Nel giugno del 2009 gli fu diagnosticato un cancro allo stadio terminale e il 14 Agosto del 2009 si spense nella sua casa di Dallas. 

  John Wyatt Fisher jr.  was a lifelong resident of Dallas, born July 7, 1925. He was raised on his parents' north Dallas County farm, and graduated at age 16 from Carrollton High School as class valedictorian. He received his BA and BS degrees in 1944 from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa.

Dr. Fisher received his MD degree at the LSU School of Medicine in 1948, with the highest GPA in his senior class.

The Korean War interrupted his residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He served in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corp from 1950-1952, and then returned to Charity Hospital to complete his residency.

He moved back to Dallas in 1954 and entered a medical practice with Drs. Milford Rouse and Cecil Patterson.

In 1966, he started his own practice of internal medicine, where he continued caring for beloved patients until his retirement in 1993. Dr. Fisher loved a good challenge, whether it was a bridge contract, a crossword puzzle, or a vicarious tennis match.

A lifelong bridge player since his days at SMU, Dr. Fisher was a celebrated grand life master, winning the McKenney Trophy in 1973, awarded to the player who won the most master points in the prior calendar year, which he accomplished while playing only on weekends. His many significant victories included the Vanderbilt Teams of Four, the Grand National Teams of Four, five National Open Pairs, the Master Mixed Teams of Four, and a second in the World Open Pairs. He published a regular bridge column in Medical Opinion and Review, and was the inventor of the Fisher Double, asking for a club lead against 3NT and 6NT.

On Wednesday afternoons, following his retirement in 1993, he was a regular participant at the Dallas Country Club duplicate bridge game.

Dr. Fisher loved to travel in Italy, where he practiced fluent Italian, "la vita è bella".

He loved to listen to opera, especially Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, and enjoyed the camaraderie of opera aficionados and supporters. He had fond memories of serving as a personal physician to the late Greek soprano star, Maria Callas.

He was a member of the Dallas Historical Society, the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Bach Society, and the Dallas Wagner Society.

He was a founding member of the Elsa von Seggern Charitable Trust. Dr. Fisher was a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church for his entire adult life, and volunteered in the Prayer Tower.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, on June 23, 2009, Dr. Fisher made the decision, wholly in character, to spend his remaining days at his Dallas home, celebrating life with his family and many friends. Despite the long preceding illness that hampered his mobility, and the final diagnosis, he never became depressed, retaining his humor, wit and conversation to the end.

He died August 14, 2009.