Page created by: Rob Fisher

Whether you called him Charles, Charlie, Pop Pop or Dad, Charles H Fisher was one heck of a guy. Born in Bayonne, NJ and raised in a predominantly Italian neighborhood in Jersey City, Dad, as I called him, became the first one in his family to graduate from college. He went to Seton Hall University and graduated in 1963. He continued at “The Hall” as a graduate student earning an MBA. He married his college sweetheart, Mary and five years after they had a son, their only child. He was a quiet guy who commanded a certain presence yet was always very gentle. I never really saw him angry that I can remember. Nor did I ever see him yell, at anyone.

He grew up playing stick ball as many city kids do. Every Saturday night his parents would go out dancing or to dinner and his paternal Grandmother would babysit him. Nana, as I would call her, had a very specific idea about what babysitting would entail. Nana took Charles to the Saturday night stock car races at Roosevelt Stadium and thus was born a life-long love of motorsports.

Professionally, Charles held a CPA and worked as an accountant for various companies over the years. He also worked within the NASCAR ranks alongside his son for more than a decade. In his later years, Charles became quite a wine aficionado, enjoying the membership of several wine clubs.

In March of 2010, Charles was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He faced the challenge with his trademark stubborn determination. Early on he was active in local Fox Foundation events and never let PD get in the way living his life. He credits his ability to maintain a real sense of normalcy thanks to his practicing of Taoist Thai Chi three times per week as a form of therapy for the disease.

Charles enjoyed life to the very end, even going so far as to attend his beloved Daytona 500 in February. He had a saying that he would often use to anyone experiencing any anxiety or fear. I call it the best fatherly advice anyone could get. He would remind me, “Only ever worry about that which you can control.”

After a hard fought 11 year battle, PD won out on October 4, 2020 just three weeks shy of his 79th birthday and 57th wedding anniversary. He leaves behind his wife Mary, son Robert, his daughter-in-law Mili, two grandchildren (Robert & Milvia) and one granddog (Gaspar).