Hero fund recipient of generous Fisher family gift

Fisher family
Priscilla J. McCrady, center, shown with Hero Fund board members Sybil P. Veeder and Mark Laskow at the time of her 25th anniversary with the Commission in 2014.

A generous donation of $25,000 was made to the Hero Fund in October by long-time friend Lilian H. Fisher of Naples, Fla.  Mrs. Fisher is the widow of Benjamin R. Fisher, Sr., and the mother of the late Benjamin R. Fisher, Jr., both of whom served on the Commission board, and the gift was made in their memory.

Mrs. Fisher also wanted to honor Priscilla J. McCrady, the Commission’s vice chair, with the gift, as McCrady is a Fisher family friend.  McCrady joined the board in 1989 and has been actively involved with the Hero Fund’s work throughout her tenure.

Benjamin R. Fisher, Sr., joined the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission in 1976 and served until his death at age 70 in 1987.  He was the retired board chair of Fisher Scientific Co., which was founded in 1902 in Pittsburgh by his father.  Son Benjamin, Jr., joined the Commission in 1993 and served until his death at age 50 in 2002.  At that time, he was the chair of the Hero Fund’s centennial committee, its activities, including a video history of the Commission, culminating with events in 2004.  A grant from the Fisher family went toward the production of the film, which can be viewed on the Commission’s website.

Fisher family
Benajmin R. Fisher, Jr.

The younger Fisher was vice president of corporate marketing and communications at PPG Industries, Inc., and was widely known in Pittsburgh’s philanthropic circles.  Former Commission member Alfred W. Wishart, Jr., eulogized him:  “He’s a Fisher, a family of civic-minded men and women highly sensitive to the needs of others.”


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