Charles Elbert Fisher III

On November 22, 2025, Charles Elbert Fisher III, 78, of Ashton, MD, passed away. He is survived by his wife, Kaaren R. Staveteig; stepdaughters, Shannon L. Koy and Jennifer A. Schatzer; four grandchildren; his brother, John W. Fisher; and his niece, Catherine Fisher. He was predeceased by his parents, Rae Zimmerman and Charles Fisher Jr., and his sister, Caroline Snyder Fisher.

Mr. Fisher graduated from Towson University in 1969 and earned an MA in American History from the University of Maryland in 1974. He began teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, before joining the Washington office of the National Park Service as an architectural historian. Over the course of his 42-year career with NPS, he authored and edited more than 100 publications on the preservation of historic buildings; helped establish and later manage the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program; chaired or co-chaired more than 20 national conferences; and served as technical editor of the Preservation Brief's series and editor of the Preservation Tech Notes series. He was widely recognized as a national authority on the rehabilitation of windows in historic structures.

Following his retirement in 2017, he continued his work in the field as a senior historic preservation consultant with MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC. In addition to his professional work, he enjoyed gardening and exploring historic places and sharing the stories connected to them.

A private memorial service is planned at the family home in Ashton, MD.