Pat Fisher
Pat Fisher, 84, formerly of Mexia, passed away Aug. 28, 2023, at the Windcrest Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at Jones Funeral Services Chapel with Mike Clements, officiating. Visitation with the family will be held prior to the service, starting at 1 p.m. All are welcome.
She was born Patricia Ann McKenzie, Jan. 13, 1939, the second daughter of Rufus (Rip) and Johnnie (O’Pry) McKenzie of Mexia, Texas. On Feb. 13, 1958, she married Jimmy Clinton Fisher and they made their home and raised their two children in Tehuacana. She worked for many years at the Mexia Dailey News as a typesetter and copyrighter, together she and Jimmy owned and operated Western Auto of Mexia until 1982. After Jimmy passed away in 1995, she went to work at the Mexia State School until she retired.
She loved Mexia and volunteered with community organizations such as Mexia Jaycees and Junior Friday Club. After graduating from Mexia High School in 1957, she became active in Mexia Alumni Association and remained life-long friends with members of her graduating class. She tirelessly promoted the legacy of her father, Rip McKenzie, through the Mexia State School Annual Easter Egg Hunt and the dedication of Camp Rip day camp in his honor. In the summers, she taught swimming lessons to a generation of Mexia kids at Mexia Country Club and the city pool. And for others, she taught to waterski at Lake Mexia behind their boat, Big Red. Her coaching philosophy: “If those skis will hold me up, they will hold you.”
Pat enjoyed crafts and decorating and loved a creative challenge. At one point she learned to crochet – she only knew one “fancy” stitch – but with that she turned miles of yarn into beautiful hats, scarves, ponchos, and blankets that she gave to friends, family, nursing home residents, and new babies. It is the rare acquaintance who doesn’t own a Pat creation!
She had a generous heart and loved to entertain. Many remember her legendary Christmas parties, Sunday afternoon baseball games and dinners in Tehuacana, and weekend-long picnics at Lake Mexia where all were welcome, and no one ever went away hungry. What many don’t know is that whenever she heard of a family having a rough time, she would buy groceries, clothes or whatever was needed and take it to them. No recognition or reward expected.
Pat never met a stranger and was gifted with many friends who will miss her dearly. But her greatest love was her family. She was proud of her children and the lives they made for their own families. She was Meme to her grandchildren and doted on them attending as many of their events as she could – football, softball, cheer, concerts, weddings and graduations. And she felt especially blessed to be part of the large, extended Fisher family – Jimmy’s aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews – whom she embraced as her own.
Today, Pat is reunited in Heaven with friends and family who have gone on before her including her parents, Rip and Johnnie McKenzie; her husband, Jimmy Fisher and his parents, Bill and Dorothy Fisher; her sister, Alma Louise McKenzie Bulger; and her precious granddaughters, Brooke Jones and Kimberly Fisher Roberts.
Those left behind to grieve her loss and celebrate her life are son, Marcus Fisher and wife Phyllis of Mexia; grandson, Jason Fisher and wife Joni of Robinson; and great-grandchildren, Bryson, Braelyn, Brynden and Brytton; her daughter, Julie Fisher Jones; granddaughter, April Morgan and husband Josh; and great-grandchildren, Calob, Jaxsyn, and Eliza of San Antonio; nephews, Gary Bulger, Kenny Bulger and wife Janet of Fairfield, and Rick Bulger and wife Debbie of Millbury, Mass.; along with numerous great- and greatgreat nieces and nephews to whom she will always be “Aunt Pat.” And regardless of how old they get, to her, they will always be “Baby.”
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to the Mexia Alumni and School Museum, Class of 1957, at PO Box 1044, Mexia, TX 76667.
