Obituary of Robert "Butch" Fischer

Robert (Butch) Fischer passed away peacefully Sunday, August 9 with his family by his side. Butch was born in Irma on the family farm on June 9, 1937. He attended country schools until he went to Irma for high school. Following high school, he worked for the dept. of Transportation in Wainwright and Calgary. In 1957 he returned to Irma to farm Cliff Smallwood’s farm with his Dad. Butch married Marian Smallwood on Feb 21, 1959 and began their life together in a 16 x 20 home on the Smallwood farm. Eventually they built their family home in 1975 where they began Pleasant View Farms. Butch was always active in the community. He followed in his father’s footsteps and played hockey in Irma, played hockey with the Viking Gas Kings and was a charter member of the Irma Aces. His three sons and grandsons played with the Irma Aces hockey team, and now his great grandsons making five generations of hockey. He coached his boys in both hockey and ball throughout the years. Butch became an MLA for the Wainwright Constituency in 1982 and won six consecutive elections before retiring in 2001. He was appointed Minister of Transportation and Minister of Public Works by Premier Ralph Klein. He thoroughly enjoyed his political career meeting people and attending community functions. He made lifelong friendships. Butch had a passion for golf especially during his retirement years. He hosted An annual family charity golf tournament for many years raising thousands of dollars for Cancer research. His smile was infectious and he met people wherever he went. He loved his family and his family adored him. He will be dearly missed. Butch is survived by his wife Marian of 61 years, 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren; BRENT ( Beret) Fischer - Irma, Reagan - Ottawa, Courtney (Ross) Herzog and Nora - Irma, Tyler (Ashton) - Irma; GREG ( Darla) - Irma, Madison (Matt) Pinel -Lynchburg,Virginia, Sydney and Morgan - Irma; SHERRI (Chris) Pfisterer - Wainwright , Ryan (Amy), Rhett, Austin, Raine and Rory - Irma, Paige (Kyle) - Edmonton, Kurt- Wainwright , Derek (Lacey), Hadley and Taves - Wainwright; TRACEY (Phil) Boorman - Peachland, Brittany - Vancouver, Michelle - U.K., Lauren (Victor) Boorman - Montreal; DOUG (Corrina) Fischer - Wainwright, Becky (Josh) Dudding, Ava and Jackson - Lloyd, Shyla -Wainwright , Karlyn - SanDiego, Taylor and Stephanie - Wainwright. He is also survived by his brothers Ken (Madeleine) - Calgary, Gordie (Sherrilee) - Irma, two sisters Alice Gleeson - Camrose and Carol (Ron) Prior - Irma and sister- in-law Dixie (Ray) - Camrose and many nieces and nephews. Butch was predeceased by his parents George and Marjorie Fischer, brother Don and brother-in-law Kevin Gleeson. A “come and go” Open House with the family will be held at the Greg Fischer farm on Thursday August 13th, 4:00 - 7:00 pm. Due to Covid restrictions, a private family service will be held at the end of August. The family would like to thank Point’s West Living staff for their tremendous care and support, especially during the past couple of weeks.