Merwyn and Connie Fisher
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others. Merwyn and Connie Fisher are an example of a couple that took that message to heart. “I still have a garden,” Merwyn said. “I really enjoy seeing things grow.”
Merwyn Fisher was born in Pekin, Indiana to Hugh and Gertrude Fisher. He was a 1955 graduate from Pekin High school. During school his favorite subjects were math and history. He also participated in fast-pitch softball and basketball when he wasn’t home working on his dairy farm.
While in high school, Merwyn lost his father. This meant that he had to assume a much larger role in running the dairy farm.
After graduation Merwyn continued working on the dairy farm but joined the National Guard about a year or two after high school graduation. He was in the National Guard for eight years. During that time, he served at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and also at Greyling Michigan for two week training each summer. At the end of his service he was a platoon sergeant.
After eight years of service, Merwyn continued with the dairy farm. He still had a desire to be connected to his community and had a heart to serve and began looking for opportunities in public service. In order to best serve people he was going to need to team up with someone he had known since he was 15 years old.
Connie Fisher was born in Rockwell City, Iowa, and grew up in Morgan Township in Harrison County. In school, she was involved in the Glee club which allowed her to sing at local weddings and preform in drama productions inside and outside of the school as well. She really enjoyed math and accounting classes.
Merwyn took Connie to get her driver’s license when she was 16 and it was a good thing because after graduating high school Connie took a job at Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing in Louisville in the accounting department. “In school, my father didn’t think I should even be driving.”
She worked there for eight years until she married a man she had met at the Salem Skating Rink when they were both only 15 years old. Merwyn and Connie got married at 25 years old on the footsteps of Connie’s childhood church. The couple had two children, Trindy and Brock. Both are Purdue graduates. After marriage Connie moved to Pekin and became a stay-at-home wife helping Merwyn with his public service endeavors. Merwyn served as Township Trustee and Assessor from 1966-1974.
In 1974, Merwyn began serving in the state legislature. He served three terms from 1974-1980. At the same time, he switched from dairy to beef cattle farming. After serving in the state legislature, Merwyn was elected as the County Council at Large. He served for twenty-eight years, having been elected seven consecutive times. “It was fulfilling,” Merwyn said. “I loved getting money back to people and places that I cared about.” He also spent seven years as a contracted mowing service for the state of Kentucky and Indiana.
While Merwyn was serving in office, Connie spent time raising both children and also babysitting. She also worked as a Title I tutor for at-risk children at Polk Schools which later consolidated into East Washington Schools for twenty-four and a half years. “I’ve always had a love for children,” Connie said. “A lot of the time all these children needed was love.”
While working at the school and taking on responsibilities of a mother, Connie also managed to fit time in to help keep records, phone logs, and track of the cows for Merwyn. She is also very active in her church in Pekin where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday School.
Both Merwyn and Connie are very active at Pekin United Methodist Church. Merwyn went to this church all of his life and Connie joined the Methodist church in Pekin after she married Merwyn, having been a Methodist all of her life as well.
Taking Mahatma Gandhi’s quote to heart, ”The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others,” the Fishers have set up a fund with the Washington County Community Foundation to do just that—serve others for many years to come. “The foundation does a lot of great things,” Merwyn explained. “They have reliable and responsible people on the board looking to do good.”
Connie and Merwyn share a jingle together that has always kept their hearts and minds in the right place. “You must love many and trust a few,” Connie recited. “And always paddle your own canoe. Always put God first in everything.”
