John Fischer

John Phillip Fischer passed away Monday, Jan. 12, while vacationing in Arizona with his family. He was 95 years old. John was born Oct. 4, 1913, in Herreid, S. D., to Andrew Fischer and Magdalena Renz. He graduated from high school there. After graduation, John joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked clearing land in the Black Hills. In the late 1930s, he moved to Minneapolis and worked for the Curtis Hotel. There he met Ida Olson, whom he married in 1939 in Brainerd, Minn. John was drafted into the Army in early 1941 and had almost completed his year of service when Pearl Harbor changed his life. He was retained in the army and sent to Tucson, Ariz., where he was assigned to a cavalry unit that was later converted to an armored division. Later, John was sent to the Pacific Theater, where he commanded an amphibious tank and was in the invasion of Leyte in World War II. In late 1942 while stationed outside of Manhattan, Kan., his only daughter, Susan Marie was born. After he was discharged from the Army, he and his family moved to Brainerd, Minn., where Ida had grown up. While in Brainerd, he worked for the Northern Pacific railroad and the United States Post Office, where he eventually retired. He was a member of the Temple Baptist Church. He and Ida spent many winters in California visiting their daughter and family and developed many friends in Bakersfield. John was very athletic all his life and especially loved bowling and golfing. He lived in Brainerd until 1994, when he and Ida moved to Corvallis to be near their daughter and family. He bowled in the Senior League there until just a year before his death. John is survived by his daughter, Susan Cooley, and her husband, Richard; brother Walter Fischer and his wife, Nana, of Brainerd, Minn.; granddaughters Dr. Kimberly Larson-Ohlsen and her husband Taylor of Denver and Kara Plemmons and her husband John of Queen Creek, Ariz. step-grandchildren David Cooley of Auburn, Wash., and Linda, Stephen and Karen Cooley of Bakersfield. He is also survived by five great-grandchildren, and eight step-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ida; great-grandson Austin; three sisters and three brothers. John had a clear mind up until his passing and was always interested in and willing to try new adventures. May God be with him on this next great adventure! At his request, no formal services will be held. A private burial with military honors will be at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Memorial contributions can be sent to Evergreen Hospice, 1046 Sixth Ave., Albany, OR 97321. Arrangements are by McHenry Funeral Home.

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John Fischer

October 4, 1913 - January 12, 2009