Joe Fisher III

Joe Fisher III passed away unexpectedly on April 16, 2025, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 83. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, on October 15, 1942, the only child of Joe Fisher, Jr., and Melissa Banks Fisher. He graduated from Beaumont South Park High School as an honor student in 1960. He was a member of the South Park Greenie basketball team that won the State Championship in 1960 under the tutelage of his beloved coach Jimmy Anders. Following the championship game, Joe was named to the 4A Boys Basketball All-Tournament Team, as selected by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. He was also selected as a member of the 1960 Texas High School All-Stars team.

Joe was offered a basketball scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin where he played from 1960 to 1964. During his junior year, he was a starter on the Southwest Conference Championship team. As a senior, he led the Longhorns in scoring and averaged 10.7 rebounds per game. A prototypical back-to-the-basket center, he muscled his way to a .613 field goal percentage that year (a single-season record he held for more than 20 years). He liked to joke, but true, that he also held the record for the most times fouled out. Joe was listed in the “Top 50 Best Longhorns in Basketball” as of 2012.

While at UT, Joe met his future wife Carol Edmondson in chemistry lab. They married on June 14, 1966, the 51st wedding anniversary of Joe’s paternal grandparents and the 40th wedding anniversary of Carol’s parents. They were married for almost 60 years and blessed with two precious daughters, Leslie Ann and Amy Marie. Joe was always proud of the accomplishments of his two children and five grandchildren. Some of the highlights of his life took place while traveling with his family members to all 50 states, including over 400 National Park Sites, and ten foreign countries. Joe and Carol took each grandchild, after they became teenagers, on a two-week vacation to the European country of their choice. Joe and Carol also enjoyed attending operas together in over 20 opera houses, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Joe graduated from UT with a Bachelors of Arts in 1965 and a master’s degree in 1970, both in Mathematics. His major professor, Hubert S. Wall, Ph.D., was an inspiration to Joe. After a short tenure working at Tracor, Joe became an independent computer consultant, serving 65 clients over 37 years. In addition to consulting, he spent much of his time volunteering. He lived by the Greek Pericles saying “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” His volunteer work included memberships in organizations such as the Austin Jaycees and the Men’s Garden Club, where he served in several capacities, including President. Joe and Carol also served as Girl Scout Leaders (1976-1981), PTA Presidents of Pearce Junior High (1982-83) and LBJ High School (1985-86), and PTA Executive Board Members of their children’s elementary and secondary schools (1978-1988). In 2008, Joe was awarded Volunteer of the Year by the Red Cross of Austin. In 2010, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) at LBJ High School honored him with the Volunteer of the Year Award. He donated over 20 gallons of blood to the Austin Blood Bank.

In addition to his family, Joe’s life-long passion was Amateur Radio. He obtained his Novice license in 1956 at 13 years old. He later earned a General Class license and an Extra Class license, call sign of K5EJL. For over 20 years, he volunteered at LASA as a mentor to high school students to become amateur radio operators. On three separate occasions, he helped students at LASA, Lamar Middle School and Salado Middle School make radio contact with the International Space Station. He was a charter life member of the American Radio Relay League and served in many capacities in the field for that organization. He was dedicated to emergency management and public service for over 50 years. Joe was also a member of the Austin Amateur Radio Club for about 60 years and served in various positions, including President. He was very proud of producing a video of the club’s 100-year history in 2019.

Joe will be remembered as a devoted father and grandfather, a wonderful teacher, and an extraordinary friend. If anyone ever asked him for help, he would have been there. He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife Carol, daughter Leslie and her husband Troy Tyler of Austin, Texas, daughter Amy and her husband Alan Ott of Austin, Texas, and five wonderful grandchildren: Olivia Ott, Victoria Tyler (call sign KI5UVD), Roy Ott (call sign KG5UNU), James Tyler, and Alafair Ott, in addition to his wonderful sister-in-law Jody King of Lockhart, Texas, brother-in-law Jerry Edmondson and his wife Carolyn of Denton, Texas, numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and loving cousins: Mimi Lempert and her husband Allen of Plano, Texas, Jerry Fisher and his wife Franchelle of League City, Texas, and John Schuhart and his wife Anna, of Midlothian, Virginia, and his cousins’ children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his stepmother Leah Carroll Fisher, brothers-in-law Pat King, Jr and J.M. Edmondson, Jr, sister-in-law Mary Margaret Edmondson Schulze, and nephews Bill Baumann and Justin Edmondson.