Tina Bukowski Fisher

Tina spent her childhood in Falls Church, Virginia with her seven siblings. She graduated from George C. Marshall High School in 1976, where she and Rena were the #1 doubles team in tennis and Tina swam competitively at Poplar Heights. Her love of sport carried through her whole life — she played tennis and racquetball (always competitively) well into adulthood, coached middle school teams, and even signed up to play in an over-30 soccer league in Vienna.

Tina earned her degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from James Madison University in 1980. It was at JMU that she met her husband, Robert Fisher, whom she married on a rainy spring day — May 16, 1985 — in Falls Church. After a year teaching in the Fairfax County School System, she returned to JMU for graduate school, earning two master's degrees in Education and Counseling. She began her career as a guidance counselor at Longfellow Middle School, where she served from 1984 until 1995. She took a two-year leave when her third child was born, then returned in 1997 to Cooper Middle School, where she worked until her retirement in 2015, inspiring countless young people through one of the most emotionally formative stretches of their lives. Even while raising three children and working full time at Cooper, Tina found the energy to earn a third master's degree, this one in School Administration from George Mason University.

Tina was a hard worker with a wide range of joys. She was a devoted gardener and a voracious reader. Those who remember her will remember her wonderful sense of humor and quick, warm laugh. She truly delighted in the every day celebration of life. She loved all holidays and sending thoughtful cards, Bunco nights, and pool gatherings and gave generously of her time to Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, where she volunteered in the Nursery and Kindergarten Sunday School. Her devotion and faith in God endured throughout her life and now carry her home to His Kingdom of Heaven.

Tina leaves behind her siblings Aniela Conner, Minet Taylor, Janina Hedges, Rena Balestrerie and Janryk Bukowski, Deryk Bukowski; three children, Adam Fisher, Erin Busch, and Emily Fisher; three grandchildren, Lillian, Banks, and Brody, with a soon-to-be fourth, Robbie, on the way; as well as her feline companion, Kitty Cat. She moves on to join her mother, Rarene, her father, Henryk, and her brother, Petryk.

A private family ceremony will be held on June 12th to honor her life. In lieu of flowers, the family humbly requests donations in Tina's memory to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

To know Tina was to know a woman whose first instinct, in any circumstance, was to care. She was a caretaker to all who were blessed enough to have shared their path in life with her gentle soul and she will be greatly missed by all.