Livonia: June 19, 2014 at age 64 years. Predeceased by parents Nicholas & Marion Fischer and brothers; Richard & Stephen Fischer. Survived by sisters; Mary “Margy” Farrell of Ridge, NY and Christine “Chrissie” Fischer of Greenville, NC. Nieces & nephews; Barbara (Michael) Blackford of Manorville, NY, Michael (Judy) Huff of Brewerton, NY, Elizabeth (Andrew) Kievit of Simpson, NC, Robert (Cynthia) Oliver of Swoope, VA, and Jennifer (Robert) Polizzo of Centereach, NY. Several great nieces & nephews.
Joe was born on October 9, 1949 in Rockville Center, NY to parents Nicholas & Marion (Murray) Fischer. Joe graduated from St. Joseph’s, Long Island, NY in 1963, Sachem High School in 1967, and SUNY Geneseo in 1971 where he received his English teaching degree. He began teaching in West Irondequoit High School in 1972. Joe was a dedicated and gifted teacher and brought humor, motivation, and adventure into the classroom.
Joe was a fun, life-loving Irishman with an awesome sense of humor, a great laugh, and a love of teaching, music, literature, and drama. Joe was a member of the “Mutt Men” which was a group of friends from elementary school that he stayed in touch with over the years. In high school, he had leading rolls in productions of “Harvey” and the “Death of a Salesman” and also toured with the high school choral group. Joe went on to have lead roles in “Spoon River Anthology” & “Seamark” productions. He sang beautifully and started the BLACK VELVET BAND, directed many student plays, and participated in plays for Rochester Community Theater. He also coordinated and developed programs for the Irondequoit Radio Curriculum, as well as doing voiceovers for WXXI. As a member of the Irondequoit Teachers, he helped plan and write for teacher celebrations; birthdays, retirements, and holidays. The only one he didn’t was “his retirement party!” Joe was a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend to many.
Family & friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service on Saturday, June 28th, at 2pm at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home Inc., 21 Big Tree Street, Rte 15 & 20A, Livonia. Deacon John Hoffman will officiate services. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Humane Society at Lollypop Farm, 99 Victor Road, Fairport, NY 14450. To send a condolence and for further information please visit: www.doughertyfuneralhomes.com
Wit and wisdom, calmly observant yet sharp as a tack; able to bring a sense of decorum at even the wildest scene. Joe, you made me (and I am sure many thousands of other friends and acquaintances over your lifetime) feel like they could count on you, trust you and that you genuinely cared.
You made sure to include everyone in the mix and in the discussion, remembered details of each person and their ‘story’, kept Skull from spinning off course in every tale and mangled joke he told…you were the ‘even keel’…the balance to insanity while still appreciating the craziness. You were the most unlikely ‘Mutt’ when viewed from a distance…but once I had spent enough time in your presence I realized that you were the hound with soul and had the ability to make every mutt and ‘near mutt’ feel that they had just been talking to you 20 minutes ago.
You remembered..you cared…and you never stood in judgement. Thank you, Joe…for making me feel like I was from Long Island…that I was an original Mutt and that I was a valued part of your life. You were…and will always be part of mine.
“Goodnight, Sweet Prince, May Flocks of Angels take thee to thy rest”.
I’m your Fishman baby!That’s how I always greeted you! You were/are the epitome of a true friend and Mutt. You’ll be missed more than you can imagine. It will take all the Mutts to keep up your duty as “Keeper of the Hutt”. You were the most talented person I know and you are the leader of Rock and Roll Heaven! Rest in peace my fellow Mutt and good friend!
I have nothing but the fondest memories of you, Uncle Joe. I remember well your humor, your intellect, your musical ability, and your gift of laughter to us. As a child, a visit from Uncle Joe was always something we looked forward to eagerly. I learned from you the value of wit, and for that I am forever grateful.
Your Nephew,
Steve
Joe,
You are and always will be an inspiration to us all. You made the Brew-outs what they were-unforgettable. I think I can speak for all of us when I say you were the smartest man we ever knew. we will miss you always.
Muttmen Unite,
The Duffy Boys.
Joe,
From the crib to the Hutt and beyond we are friends forever. Making you laugh over some absurdity of life gave me more enjoyment than you knew. Now you do. If Karma be a real thing, we’ll meet again hopefully as real dogs, because,man, they have the life. Promise me this,palomine: laugh along with us as we recount your stories this weekend.
Mooney
My prayers are with the family at this sad time. I and Joe had attended St. Joseph in Ronkonkoma. We were best friends for all those years until highschool and we lost touch with one another. Only this past year ,50 years later Joe and I met for lunch and had a stroll down memory lane . It was a special day I will never forget .I was so looking forward to renewing our friendship when he move back to Long Island. I sure will miss that !!!!
May God Bless you and may you rest in His eternal ligth & peace Joe my dear friend
Your childhood best pal,
Dennis L
40 years have passed us by so quickly and thru the years we have shared nearly everything from Doo Oop to single malts. But most important of all was sharing your deep and uncompromising friendship coupled with your incredible personality, intelligence and enthusiasm for just being “Joe” – a Muttman extraordinaire. You have brought happiness, laughter and joy into so many lives.
From this day forward, life will never be the same as this wonderful chapter has come to an end. My dearest friend, you will always be as close as the next 50’s song I hear, the next “story to be told” or the next sunset over the water.
May God bless you and may you rest in peace dear friend. You will be greatly missed until we meet again. In the meantime, save a seat for me if you can.
Joe,
Thanks for providing a lifetime of great memories from stopping bar patrons in their tracks by leading us in a rendition of “What’s your Name?” to sharing the campouts and canoe trips.
Rest in Peace,
Your fellow Muttman,
Dave Martin
A visitor to this house, many times, my family will miss Joe immensely. Every time I look at the Hudson, see a train roar by, or start singing an oldie, I will think of you. I know, to some degree, it will be that way for the rest of my life. I’m so grateful that as the years went on we became such good friends. You had a lot of character, and Lord knows you were a character. You were also the most intelligent person I’ve known. But, you never flaunted that; always happiest when you could just be a “Mutt”.
I’m missing you beyond words, dear friend. God willing, we’ll meet again.
Joe you will always be remembered and you are always in our hearts.
comments by Bob Martin
Over songs, cigars and suds,
Though uknown the where and when,
An eternal group of buds,
The Mutt Men will unite again
Joe was a dear friend to my father and fellow Mutt Man, may his soul find peace.
Joe, you were a wonderful lifelong friend and I’ll miss you greatly. Rest in Peace…Dan Scanlon