James Fischer - Obituary

ith great sadness, the family of James (Jim) E. Fischer, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (Ret) of Edgewater, Md., announce his passing on November 1, 2014. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at the U.S. Naval Academy, Main Chapel, Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 1:00pm. Interment immediately following at the U.S. Naval Academy Columbarium. Jim was born on May 2, 1929 in Barbourville, Ky. He grew up in Takoma Park, Md., and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School. He proudly attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in the 14th Company with the Class of 1952. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy Jim was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the USAF. His first duty station was at Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson, Ariz., where he served as an Intelligence Officer. He was then stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii as a navigator. While stationed in Hawaii, Jim built a planetarium for star identification, and revised a chapter on air navigation in Modern Airmanship. Jim later joined the 1254th Air Transport Wing of the Special Air Missions (SAM), serving from 1960 to 1965. As part of this unit, Jim served as a navigator on Air Force One during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. His next duty station was the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Ala. He served as Disaster Preparedness Officer for the Continental Air Command. After volunteering for the second of two tours in Vietnam, Jim suffered a heart attack, was evacuated, and medically retired in 1969. Jim returned to his home in Ft. Valley, Ga., and began a second career as a high school chemistry and biology teacher. In 1970, Jim made a decision to return to Maryland with his family to work alongside his best friend, Bob Banning, as Comptroller at Bob Banning Motors, and to be near the U.S. Naval Academy, which he dearly loved. Jim is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Betty (nee Aultman); children Kelly, Nan, Mary Lynn, and Mark; grandchildren Ashley, Brad, Laura, Sally, Tyler, and Ryan; great grandchildren Jake, Reese, Liv, Peyton, Caitlin, and soon-to-be here baby Leah Grace. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Fisher House Foundation (www.fisherhouse.org).