FISHER, MICHAEL

Mike passed away peacefully after a short illness on Friday, June 20^th, 2014 at the age of 66. He is survived by his family including his wife Pat, his daughters Morgane and Leigh, his son-in-law Conrad, and his first grandchild, Leigh.

He was born September 11, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He moved with his family to the San Francisco area at age 11. Mike attended Michigan State, the University of Denver, and The Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania where he received his MBA in 1975. He met his future wife in Denver, where she attended the nearby Colorado Woman’s College. They married after graduation and he took a position with Sheraton Hotels. After many moves with the hotel industry, Mike decided to pursue an MBA. He began work as a Consultant with Arthur Young in Denver.

Mike and Pat moved to Phoenix in 1980 to be near family. When he relocated to Phoenix, Mike started his own CPA firm. As his practice grew, he expanded into Financial Planning allowing him to better serve his clients.

Mike spent his career helping his clients and his personal time helping the hungry, the homeless, children, his church, his friends, and his family. He always made time for others. He was a strong and principled man, respected for his honesty and integrity, and lived his life in a way that exemplified his strongly held values.

 Mike was active in many organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale, St. Mary’s Food Bank, Christ Church of the Ascension, and the Jack Ingebritson Foundation Board of Directors, to name a few. As much as he loved his professional life and volunteering, the most important thing in his life was his family. He embraced every experience that a father of two daughters could wish for. He walked Morgane down the aisle, saw Leigh graduate college and begin her PhD program in Biostatistics, and saw his first grandchild born.

Mike always made sure to enjoy life. He loved traveling, sailing, playing golf, sharing the long version of the story, and spending time with his many wonderful friends and family. As the family chef, Mike loved the challenge of recreating tasty meals that his family had enjoyed in restaurants. He always had a joke, a smile, and was kind to everyone. Even in the end, he always said “please” and “thank you”.

We are grateful that Mike had just returned from his top “bucket list” trip, captaining a narrow boat for seven days along the Union Canal in Scotland, with his wife and good friends.

Memorial services will be at 11:00am, Saturday, July 12^th at Christ Church of the Ascension, 4015 E Lincoln Dr, Paradise Valley, with a reception to follow in Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, we suggest donations to a charity that Mike was involved with, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale, 10533 E Lakeview Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85258, St. Mary’s Food Bank Attn: Development, 2831 N 31^st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009, The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, PO Box 4777, NY, NY 10163, Christ Church of the Ascension, 4501 E Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253, TGen Pancreatic Research, 445 N Fifth Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, or any charity that you feel embodies his joyous and loving spirit.