Announcement

Ocean Pines staff remembers Ron Fisher

Thursday, October 31, 2024

(Oct. 31, 2024) The Ocean Pines family learned last week of the passing of Ron Fisher, the Ocean Pines Association Dockmaster since roughly 2014.

Many in the community will remember Fisher for his kindness, his dedication, and his infectious laugh and sense of humor.

Ocean Pines staff remembered Fisher:

General Manager John Viola:

“Ron's broad background and love for his work made him a guiding force within our community. He was a team player, but he was also a mentor and shared his knowledge and kindness with everyone around him. He was, without question, one of the many reasons I took this job and has remained an inspiration to us all. Above all, Ron loved his family deeply, and his friendship meant the world to me. His absence leaves a profound void, and he will be missed dearly.”

Director of Business Administration Linda Martin:
“Ron always took the time to stop in everyone's office, just to say hello when he was visiting the Administration Building. Even if I was busy and he didn't want to interrupt, I knew he was in the building because I would hear laughter coming from down the hallway as he told one of his great (but corny) jokes.

“Ron was proud of his family, often showing pictures from his phone, most recently of the great grandchild that was born a few months ago.

“I will miss his sense of humor and his caring manner. As Joe Reynolds correctly said: Ron was a true gentleman.”

Public Works Senior Director Eddie Wells:
“I would like to say that Ron always greeted you with a smile and a warm response. He was a true gentleman. I admired his life and all the things he had accomplished.

“Ron was a true inspiration to everyone. He proved that you could do whatever you set your mind to do. I enjoyed learning from him and his knowledge in the many occupations he held.

“Ron lit up when showing pictures of his children and grandchildren while explaining their accomplishments. He was so proud of his family. He adored his wife, Shirley, and would bring us baked goods throughout the year, which were always received well by the guys!

“He will be missed by all who knew him. I lost a great peer and friend who will be missed deeply.”

Recreation and Parks Director Debbie Donahue:
“Ron and I were what I would consider friends. I learned a lot from him not only at the Marina, but in life.

“He always had a kind word, and I have so much respect for him. I will truly miss him.”

Administrative Assistant Michelle Lane-Ross:
“When I returned to Ocean Pines, two and a half years ago, I had the privilege of seeing Ron almost every day when he would come into the admin building. I also could count on Ron for a quick response when questions arose about the Marina on [email protected].

“I will greatly miss Ron. He was a kindhearted soul.”

Public Relations Director Josh Davis:
“One of my first assignments when I came on in 2019 was covering Ron Fisher and his contributions to Ocean Pines. It was an easy story to tell.

“Ron was an incredibly kind and generous man, and he led such an interesting life, from humble beginnings, to serving his country, helping others as a PA, and then running what used to be called PRMC and is now Tidal Health, and taking on the Ocean Pines Marina as his ‘retirement’ job.

“But beyond his fascinating life story, Ron was just such a nice guy. He always had a smile, always had a joke, and he always had time to stop and talk. His Ocean Pines family will miss him immensely.”

Below is an excerpt of an article than ran in the Ocean Pines Report quarterly newsletter in 2019:

Before becoming the Ocean Pines Marina manager, Fisher led a storied career that culminated in a decade of service as the executive director of the Peninsula Regional Medical Group in Salisbury.

According to a biography prepared by the Physician Assistant History Society, Fisher previously held titles such as “sailor, jet mechanic, UPS driver, barber, nurse, community volunteer, columnist [and] 15th President of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.”

Fisher was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania in 1943 and grew up in nearby Selinsgrove. He married his high school sweetheart, Shirley, in 1961, and served in the U.S. Navy for four years.
Unsure of what to do next, Fisher enrolled in barber school and cut hair for two years. His clients included naturalist Euell Gibbons and, once, Monkees lead singer Davy Jones.

Then, Fisher got an offer to go to nursing school through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“After nursing school, I was charged with nursing emergency rooms for a year, and then I was offered a position at the Geisinger Health System [in Pennsylvania] in renal dialysis, and I ran their renal dialysis unit for a couple years,” Fisher said. “And then they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to send you to physician's assistant school.’ I said, ‘Sounds good to me!’

“That was just a normal progression for me,” he said of his varied interests and career paths.

Fisher practiced family medicine for 10 years and later went into administration, still with Geisinger, eventually becoming vice president of operations for the western region.

“I was responsible for multiple clinics [and] physicians and staffing and facilities, you name it,” he said.

Fisher also served as the second president of the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants. He is credited with “moving the profession forward through developing relationships with regulatory bodies and professional organizations,” according to the Physician Assistant History Society.

Eighteen years ago, Fisher, although retired, received a call from PRMC (now Tidal Health), asking for help expanding the hospital’s network of physicians.

“I helped them for 11 years!” he said with a laugh.

Fisher started working for Ocean Pines five years ago. He said he’s “always been a fisherman” and kept a boat in the Marina. He and Shirley had a condo in nearby Ocean City.

“After I retired, I just decided I needed something to do. I came down and put an application in to work on the docks and was offered the dockmaster position. That was the beginning,” he said. “I learned on the job, met with some of the other marinas’ staff and learned a lot about managing marinas from them, and here I am.”

Fisher said the job was a welcome change.

“Being in health care for all those years, you deal with a lot of disease and death and everything, and I said to my wife, ‘I want to do something that people enjoy buying.’ It was an easy transition for me – and it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

“You meet a lot of people, and just the management aspects of a marina are far different than health care,” Fisher continued. “To me, it’s a lot easier but, at the same time, I enjoy the ability to make a profitable amenity for Ocean Pines – that’s been my goal.”

Fisher has seen some colorful characters over the years. Perhaps the funniest, he said, was a Pennsylvania State Trooper who accidentally pumped 25 gallons of gas into the rod holder of his boat.

“Of course, the gas went down into the bilge of his boat, so he couldn’t start it and had to have the boat towed over to the boat ramp. And they had to have the hazmat team come in and drain the fuel out of the boat,” he said. “The funniest part was, this guy actually taught hazmat in Pennsylvania.”

Along with serving as Ocean Pines’ dockmaster, Fisher writes the monthly “Captain Ron's Fish Tales” column for the Courier newspaper. He is also a past president of the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce and Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation, and served on the Worcester County Department of Health Advisory Council.

Fisher said he enjoys living in the community because it’s a central location for his family.

“My grandkids grew up vacationing here,” he said. “They’re in their mid 20s and 30s now and, in fact, they were all just here for the weekend. My oldest granddaughter has her own real estate company in Pennsylvania and my grandson is a captain in the Marine Corps and teaches at OCS (Officer Candidates School) at Quantico. And my youngest granddaughter works for L’Oréal, up in New Jersey.”

He also said the recreational opportunities in Ocean Pines are second to none.

“I love the water, and I like to fish – and it’s got ‘em all,” Fisher said. “There’s nothing I don’t like about Ocean Pines.”

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Ocean Pines staff remembers Ron Fisher

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