William B. Fisher
William B. Fisher of East Hampton, a veteran of both the Army and the Navy and a longtime building contractor, died of cancer on Aug. 30 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. He was 78 years old.
Mr. Fisher was born at Southampton Hospital on May 11, 1938, to Ernest Bernard Fisher and the former Marjorie Gilbride. He grew up in Sag Harbor but left at 17 to join the Navy. His family called him a “rambunctious young rebel” who learned discipline and a variety of trades during a total of 15 years in the military, including time spent with the Seabees, the naval construction unit, and in the Army, which he joined after leaving the Navy.
In his early 30s, he returned to the South Fork and settled in East Hampton. He worked for nearly 40 years as a contractor, carpenter, craftsman, and home custodian for many local families. He was known to be hard-working, reliable, and honest.
Bill Fisher’s family described him as a “giant man with a massive heart,” and said that “patriotism, generosity, fearlessness, and determination were the hallmarks of his life, serving as the greatest traits that he passed on to his children and inspired in others.”
He was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor, where he had been an altar boy as a child. He enjoyed political debates, Irish history, seafood, fishing, drawing, spending the winter months in Florida, and the company of his cat, Shoeless Joe.
Mr. Fisher is survived by his wife of 50 years, Deborah; three sons, William Fisher of Campbellsville, Ky., Kevin Fisher of Portland, Ore., and Bryan Fisher of Appleton, Me.; and two daughters, Ann-Margaret Costin of Keeseville, N.Y., and Tara Fisher of Milford, Conn. He leaves six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a sister, Jane Hammer of Riverhead.
A funeral Mass was said at St. Andrew’s on Sept. 2, the Rev. Peter Devaraj officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery. The family has suggested memorial contributions to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.