Mildred L. (Madsen) Fisher of Oak Bluffs died on April 3 at her home in Oak Bluffs following a long period of declining health. She died two days before her 89th birthday.
Mildred was born in New York City on April 5, 1923, the daughter of Walter Madsen and Margaret (Bryan) Madsen. Her father was a chauffeur for the Marx Brothers of toy-making fame. During the Depression the family moved to Chatham in upstate New York to live with family members who owned a farm. She graduated from the Chatham High School.
Following high school she moved in Saratoga Springs. There she worked as a telegraph operator Western Union at the Saratoga Race Track. During World War II she again lived in New York City and worked as a telephone operator for New Jersey Bell Telephone.
There Mildred met and married Capt. John Gillon, an oil tanker captain for the Texaco Oil Company. She took some pride in helping him study for his USCG licensing examinations. She claimed she knew the regulations better than he did. She used to fly to various ports around the country to meet her husband’s ship. In 1950 they moved to Martha’s Vineyard where they built a home in the Oak Dale section of Edgartown. Subsequently the marriage ended. She married George H. Fisher, an Oak Bluffs commercial fisherman, in 1956.
Mildred worked for Otis Rogers driving a taxi during the summer for eight years. She also worked as the Assistant Librarian in Oak Bluffs for 11 years. Mildred attended the Trinity United Methodist Church in Oak Bluffs. She was an avid reader, enjoyed playing cards, usually a brisk game of Spite and Malice with her friends, made many braided rugs, and collected coins. She was a fine cook.
She is survived by her son, George H. Fisher Jr. of Oak Bluffs and numerous nieces and nephews from the Chatham and Spencertown areas of New York. She was predeceased by her brother, Walter A. Madsen.
At her request her memorial service is private, officiated by the Rev. David Berube. Her cremains will be interred in the family plot in Chatham, N.Y., this coming spring. Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs is making the arrangements.
Donations may be made in her memory to the Hospice of Cape and the Islands, PO Box 4188, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568
Please visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.