Robert Eugene Fischer
Beloved husband, amazing dad, loving grandpa, devoted uncle, excellent golfer, soaring private pilot, Robert Eugene Fischer (“Bob”) passed away peacefully in his sleep on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2015. He was 79.
Born at home in Morrisonville, IL on December 30, 1935, to Mary Rose Fleming and Herbert Fischer, Bob was the younger brother to big sister Joyce At a young age and during WWII, he went to live with his maternal grandparents and his five uncles on the family farm. His grandma would fry up many of the farm’s chickens for everyone’s main meal at noon. By the time the platter came around to little Bobby Gene, all that was left were the “wangs.” Consequently, before they became Super Bowl favorites, he had an enduring love of chicken wings!
His grandpa was his role model and mentor who told him to get an education but also learn a trade. Accordingly, he graduated from Ohio Christian College with a B.S. in Economics, and got his Contractor’s License for his carpet and flooring business. His grandpa introduced him to the game of golf, which Bob played with gusto all his life.
Bob was an All State Illinois football back and defensive tackle, playing for St. Theresa High School. He went to college on a football scholarship.
Bob spent almost nine years in the military, first as a Marine, and then in the Army, where he served in the Korean War as a Forward Observer.
In the early 1960’s, Bob was sitting on his couch in Illinois watching a televised golf tournament at Torrey Pines, while a miserable snowstorm raged outside. Disgusted, he packed one suitcase and with only $20 in his pocket, pointed his 1952 Chevrolet West and came to Santa Barbara, thereby changing the direction of his life.
For 15 years, he served as a Firefighter and Engineer for the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department, retiring in 1976 as a Fire Captain. He was admired for his entrepreneurial spirit owning two local steakhouses, The Bounty and The Spur, and Santa Barbara Farms, a dairy distribution business. For the last 20 years he was a respected and successful real estate broker/CEO of CBF and Associates.
In 1976, he married Colette Fanning Walker, and they spent the next 39 years traveling the world, owning businesses together, enjoying each other’s company, playing poker with friends, proudly raising their daughter, Nicole Marie, and creating a wonderful life together.
Bob was a pilot who owned his own plane, a Piper Cub Tri-Pacer. At the Santa Barbara Airport, to the consternation of the control tower, he would duck down in his seat, , so it would look like his dog, Clemmy, was flying the plane!
Bob, always the gentleman, had a huge heart, loved dogs, travelled well and could fix anything. He was smart and kind, sure and steady, easygoing and solid, humorous and fair, and honest and humble.
He was a member of the Montecito Country Club, Glen Annie Golf Club and Municipal Golf Club; He was a lifelong member of the Noventa Toastmaster’s Club. He loved the water and had a slip in the Santa Barbara Harbor since 1968, with a variety of boats, culminating in the last one, named after his granddaughter, Kailyn Rose, a 38” Carver.
Robert is survived by his loving wife, Colette, his devoted daughter Nicole Fischer Crisostomo, her husband Bill, and his grandchildren Kailyn Rose and Colin Robert Crisostomo, Uncle William Dowdy, Nephew Mark Tozer, Cousin Doug Dowdy and many relatives in Illinois and Kentucky. He is greatly missed by his dogs, Sully, Beagle and Lucy. His mother, father and sister, Joyce, preceded him in death.
A Memorial service will be held Monday, February 23, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary, 2020 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Interment will follow at the Santa Barbara Cemetery, 901 Channel Drive, Montecito, CA 93108. Afterward, a Celebration of His Life will be held at Mulligan’s Café and Bar, 3500 McCaw Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to C.A.R.L. (Canine Adoption and Rescue League), PO Box 5022, Ventura, CA 93005, in honor of Bob Fischer.