Mr. Raymond "Ray" Fischer

Raymond “Ray” W. Fischer, 91, of 71 Sunnyside Drive, passed away Monday, September 23, 2024, at Craneville Place in Dalton. Born in Chicago, IL, on July 11, 1933, son of Raymond A. and Marie Krahn Fischer, he was a 1951 graduate of Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, IL. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1956. Ray served in the United States Army, Fort Huachuca, AZ, where he was an assistant electrical/electronics engineer at the Electronic Warfare Department. Mr. Fischer was employed at General Electric Ordnance Department in various assignments in the FBM training department, and in several program manager positions, retiring in 1990 after 34 years of service. He was an active clock collector and restorer, and also had an avid interest in photography and historical research. He was a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors since 1966, and published several articles on clockmakers. Ray belonged to the Berkshire County Historical Commission, Berkshire Family History Association, was a Dalton Library Trustee, an honorary trustee of the American Clock Museum in Bristol, CT, a past president of two national clock association chapters, a member of the GE Quarter Century Club, Pensioners Club, and Elfun Society. He prepared and published THE DALTON PAPERS from research of 18th century Dalton town manuscripts he found when doing the Dalton Town Record Inventory in 1994. He was a longtime member of the Dalton United Methodist Church, having served on the Trustees and Historical Committee. Ray and his wife, the former Linda Heidel, were married on December 28, 1963, in Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pittsfield. They traveled extensively and were on many cruises. Besides his wife, Linda, he leaves a son, John E. Fischer and his wife, Barbara, of Plymouth, MA; a daughter, Lorinda M. Ulmer, and her husband, Mark, of Wexford, PA, and five grandchildren- Zachary, Alyssa, and Joshua Fischer, and Lindsay and Morgan Ulmer. Funeral Notice: Following cremation, memorial services will be held at the Dalton United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 11am. Burial will be at a later date at the Maple Street Cemetery in Adams, MA at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ray’s memory may be made to NEOESR (New England Old Sheepdog Rescue). 49 Stonehedge Road, Lincoln, MA 01773, or the Dalton United Methodist Church, 755 Main Street, Dalton MA 01226.

Mr. Raymond "Ray" Fischer

July 11, 1933 - September 23, 2024