Obituary: Howard R. Fish, Jr. - Class of 1938

NEW GLARUS [Wisconsin] - Howard R. Fish Jr., age 79, passed away on Wednesday, November 29, 2000, at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, after a long illness. He was born January 9, 1921, in Madison, the son of Howard R. and Alma (Roump) Fish. He married Barbara Wootton on June 1, 1944, in Madison. He graduated from Madison Central High School in 1938 and from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1947. He was commissioned a second lieutenant from UW ROTC in June 1942 and served with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Southwest Pacific. From 1942 until 1944 he was a radar and communications officer with heavy bomber squadrons. From 1944 until 1946 he served as airborne radar officer with the Air Technical Service Command. He served in the Air Force Reserve until 1966, when he retired as a lieutenant colonel. He spent his professional career as an electronics engineer at the Argonne National Laboratory of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Argonne, Illinois. After retirement, he returned to Wisconsin. Throughout his life, Howard generously volunteered his time and talents to a number of organizations, particularly Recording for the Blind, Orland Park, Illinois, the Boy Scouts of America in Palos Heights, Illinois, and Orfordville Wisconsin, and the Community Center Foundation in Palos Park, Illinois. He was a member of the American Legion and a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in Madison for many years. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, trapshooting and, later in life, his cottage in northern Wisconsin. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; two children, Martha (Paul Fuchs), Belleville, Wisconsin, and Robert (Claire Charney), Seattle, Washington; and two granddaughters, Lisa and Rebecca. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his sister, Doris. A memorial service with military honors will be held on Saturday, December 2, 2000, at 11:00 a.m. at NEWCOMER FUNERAL HOME in Orfordville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to The Center, 12700 Southwest Highway, Palos Park, IL 60464.

Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on December 1, 2000; submitted by Michael Vahldieck (Class of 1968)