Here is the eulogy shared at his funeral by Norman Levine...

When thinking about what to say about Bob one word came to mind very fast…”MENSCH”. So I looked it up in the dictionary and sure enough there was Bob’s picture right next to the word. Well not really, but you know what I mean. The definition of mensch is “ someone with the character of integrity and honesty. That’s our Bob, our dad, our grandpa, our great grandpa, our friend. You can throw in a whole buffet of other adjectives to describe this man including but not limited to kind, polite, giving, caring, sensitive, sweet, funny, patient, understanding, and so much more. But basically, a mensch. In all the years I’ve known him I don’t think I ever heard him raise his voice or be angry with anyone. Never heard him say a bad word. He found good in everybody and treated everyone with the utmost respect. That was his nature. So easy going.

He was blessed to have had two partners for almost the same amount of years. His wonderful Shirley who gave him two beautiful children and shared his love while raising an incredible family.. including 5 grandchildren and 3 great granddaughters. When Shirley left us he was fortunate to find another soulmate in Betty who brought him comfort and a world of new adventures. Two totally different women but the same Bob. Nothing changed in his personality only in his lifestyle. He was loved and adored by all.

His talents as an artist, designer, and photographer, were only surpassed by his gift of being an incredible husband and father. He passed on his creative skills to his two loving children Barbara and Ricky. You can see Bob’s influence in all their work. How blessed they were to have him guiding them and supporting them in all their endeavors. Bob’s skills were incredible. Off the charts. For his livelihood he was able to express himself as a very successful package designer. But it was his love of photography that was his passion. He loved taking photos. Mostly of people. People in the city, people on the beach, people everywhere. He built a darkroom in his home in Whitestone and it was there where he created a unique form of mounting and displaying his work to make it look almost 3 dimensional. Sometime in the 70’s he helped create the Soho Photo Gallery and joined a group of fellow artists who would have a public venue for displaying their work. It was a great way for him to share his talents and learn from others. A few years ago, for his 90th birthday, Barbara and Rick were able to honor Bob by going back to the Soho Photo Gallery, where the current members were gracious enough to allow his family to once again display some of his collective works of art. It was an incredible weekend for us and most of all for Bob. Many of you here now were at the retrospective show and remember how special it was. How special he was. The expression on his face as people would come up to him in admiration. I remember our friend Ruth and her sister Janice coming by to view the exhibit. When they were looking at a particular photo that was of a beach scene taken at Brighton Beach maybe 40 years ago they recognized out of the clear blue their Cousin Renee who was lying on a blanket in the sand. Is that amazing? But what was so special was the people who were not family members or friends who just stopped in to view the exhibit (or wanted some complimentary wine and cheese) but that’s okay and were blown away by the quality and beauty of Bob’s works. Pretty cool to be in the presence of people who are complimenting you on your achievements. So glad he had the opportunity to be around for this wonderful event.

Barbara and I went to visit with him at the nursing home last Wednesday. He was not the same Bob. He looked fine, Handsome as ever. Full head of hair. Beard neatly trimmed. But he was not the same. He didn’t recognize us and it was almost as he was saying goodbye. Bob grew up going to High School with Tony Bennett. Before I left from our visit I asked him who was a better singer “Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra”? He said Sinatra and started singing “My Way”. Well Mr. Robert Fisher, our beloved father and grandfather, you certainly did it your way, and no one could do it any better than you. May you rest in peace and may your spirit and love continue to fill our lives in your beautiful works of art. God bless you.