Otis Norwood Fisher, Jr. died peacefully in his home on July 24th. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on July 30th, 2025, at the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, NC with Rev. Newton Cowan officiating. Following the memorial service, the family will receive friends in the Mullin Life Center at the church.
Born May 13, 1933, the first child of Rose and Otis Fisher, Sr., Otis lived life with a genuine humility and open heartedness that took root at a young age. Following the untimely death of his father, his mother moved back home to Bladenboro, NC to be with her family on a small farm where Otis, his brother, Billy, and sister, Shirley, spent a wonderful early childhood. His mother remarried and his sister Betty Jo was added to the fold. They were a close family who worked hard and loved each other dearly. Recalling what it took to make homemade ice cream during wartime scarcity, Otis never stopped appreciating his favorite indulgence. As he came of age, he was a paperboy and worked in the family general store until he graduated from high school where he excelled as a student and athlete. Otis never forgot his small-town ties and the loving family who supported him. Always modest, he was proud of his roots.
If you knew Otis for more than a minute, you’d also know he had a clever wit and an unshakable devotion to the Carolina Tar Heels. Having graduated from UNC with a degree in Chemistry and the UNC School of Medicine, Otis rarely missed a game—or a chance to talk about one. His love of medicine was also evident throughout his career. After a two-year internal medicine residency in Dallas, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon and became the head of aviation medicine for the 10th wing in Italy and England. He was able to fly many missions to more than 25 bases, including Pakistan, Iran, Libya and Jordan. Otis looked back on those exciting times with fond memories.
After military service, Otis completed residency training in Radiology at UNC, where he served as Chief Resident. He was then awarded a fellowship in cardiovascular radiology at Duke University.
In 1968 he became a radiologist at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital specializing in vascular radiology. In 1977, he was named Chief of Radiology, a role he served for 23 years. He was known throughout North Carolina as a superb radiologist for his diagnostic excellence and loving care of his patients.
As a leader in his field, Otis served on the boards of directors for the North Carolina Chapter of the American College of Radiology, the Medical Board of Moses Cone Admissions, North Carolina Medical Peer Review Foundation, and the Southeastern Angiography Society, Greensboro Academy of Medicine, serving as president of these last four organizations.
But more than anything, Otis was about family. He showed his love not just in words, but in the way he showed up—in the big moments and the small ones. He was the rock, the steady hand, the voice of reason (and sometimes mischief) that made everything feel just a little more grounded. Known as Pop Pop, he loved every moment with his five grandchildren. He was proud of their many accomplishments, but most importantly, recognized their unique gifts and personalities.
Otis also had another kind of chosen family: his golf friends. That group became a pillar of his life, especially after retirement. They didn’t just play a weekly round; they traveled the country and the world together, chasing fairways and collecting stories.
Otis and LaVonne were married for over 25 years, and they were deeply dedicated to each other. In his final years and especially in his final months, she cared for him with consistency and devotion.
We are grateful to Otis’s skilled caregivers, Robin, Kisha, Sherry, and Barry for their loving care of Otis in his final days.
Otis was predeceased in death by his mother, Rose Fisher Vaught, his brother, Billy Ray Fisher and sister Betty Jo Cain. He leaves behind his wife, LaVonne Huntley Fisher, daughters Kit Bredrup (Turner), Kim Turner (John), grandsons, Turner Bredrup and Fisher Bredrup, granddaughters, Carolina Turner and Sloane Turner, his sister Shirley Bridger, stepson Tyler Beach (Andy Gerschutz), step grandson Daniel Beach, and a closet full of Carolina blue.
In lieu of flowers, Otis and his family request memorials to be sent to First Presbyterian Church Greensboro, AuthoraCare, or The UNC Medical Foundation.
