“He so adored his grandchildren and great grandchildren,” said Mayberry. I will miss him for the rest of my life.”įisher is survived by Mayberry and Jane Hannuksela (Steve) of Washington state, both daughters from his first marriage as well as six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. “People supported the zoo because they trusted him and knew he would never let them down. ![]() “He was so gentle and kind, so much so that he couldn’t bring himself to discipline any of his staff,” said Bell. They had met in 1976 when she came to work at the zoo. He worked in offices near his wife, Wendy Astley Bell, who ran a direct marketing firm. He continued to lecture on zoo and conservation issues. But he had many other accomplishments, as the saying goes, too numerous to mention.”Īfter leaving the zoo, Fisher began a consulting firm that specialized in public/ private partnerships. Fisher is probably best known for establishing its reputation as an international leader in the study, care and breeding of these fascinating giant primates. “Because gorillas … are so identified with the zoo, Dr. Fisher, the homegrown veterinarian who guided Lincoln Park into the modern era of zoology while still preserving its charm as a wonderful, family-oriented and free neighborhood gathering place-the ‘little old zoo,’ as he so affectionately and precisely describes it. When Fisher announced his retirement in 1991, a Tribune editorial praised him, saying, “The Chicago area is particularly indebted to Dr. He was named the bird curator, the youngest curator in the zoo’s long history. ![]() That “increase” included the hiring of Bell in 1976 when he was a 23-year-old with a degree in biology from Syracuse University and a master’s in zoology from the State University of New York, Brockport. Lester Fisher, then the director of Lincoln Park Zoo, on Nov. Prince Philip, left, visits the Ape House with Dr. We literally had to reinvent, to move Lincoln Park Zoo toward a new conservation agenda, to remake the whole zoo physically and rethink it philosophically.” And, as Fisher said, “We had to stop taking animals from the wild and start learning to work collaboratively with other zoos. For instance, instead of having them in cages, the Great Ape House provided gorillas with larger, open spaces where they could climb and interact more naturally with one another. The zoo began its transformation, as Fisher oversaw the construction or renovation of nearly every zoo structure. “The challenge for me was to determine how we could change this wonderful place into something more, that was meaningful for visitors and better for the animals.” ![]() “We were a historic facility, which meant that our buildings and the various yards in which the animals lived were very old,” he said. (Leonard Bartholomew/Chicago Tribune)Ĭomparatively self-effacing and surely no showboat, Fisher too became a familiar TV face, with frequent appearances on “Zoo Parade,” as well as on “Bozo’s Circus,” “Ark in the Park” segments on “Ray Rayner and His Friends” and in any number of documentaries.īut his focus and energies were firmly on transforming the zoo and changing the ways in which its animals were cared for. Lester Fisher, right, and his assistant Gene Hartz, attend to Sinbad the gorilla on Aug.
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