Frank Ray Fisher, 65, passed away Thursday, January 24, 2019 at Presence Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. Frank was born on May 20, 1953, in Rolla Missouri, to Marie Michaelis Fisher and Emory D. Fisher. Frank married Joan Cawley on August 9, 1980 in Wheaton IL.  In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Lawrence and Michael.

Frank is survived by his wife, Joan of Chicago, two children, David of Chicago and Elaine (Jason) of Santa Clara, California, a granddaughter, Amelia, a sister Mary (George) Minkevich and their six children.

Frank graduated from North Central College and McCormick Theological Seminary. He served as a paramedic and retired from the Chicago Fire Department in 2001 and then served as an Interim Presbyterian Minister until his retirement in 2017. Frank was an Oblate of the Abbey of John the Baptist and Saint Benedict, an ecumenical Abbey located in Bartonville, Illinois.

Frank said, “An Oblate is someone who has promised to follow the rule of Saint Benedict in their lives up to the point where their position in life makes following the rule impossible.” As a Benedictine Oblate Frank chose the name Oscar Romero as a sign of his commitment to love and justice. This prayer was written for Brother Oscar Romero, on the anniversary of his death. Let it be a reminder of all the ways our lives are like seeds planted in the ground in the hopes that our legacies and our work for the sake of love, and justice will be carried on by those who love us:

 It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. 

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.  

Cremation care was provided by the Cremation Society of Illinois through Olson Burke/Sullivan Funeral & Cremation Center of Chicago. Memorial service will be held at Friendship Presbyterian Church at the Norwood Park Metra Station Saturday, February 16 at 2:00 PM. A reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers the family would ask you to make a memorial donation in Frank’s memory to:

St. Benedict's Abbey
7561 W. Lancaster Road
Bartonville, IL 61607