EDWARD STUART FISHER

Ed was born in Winnipeg on July 30, 1942. He was predeceased by his parents, Hazel and Stuart Fisher, and sisters Elizabeth (Betty) and Patricia (Pat).

The second child and only son, his family called him “Sonny” his entire life. He went to school in the north end and took Graphic Design at Technical Vocation High School. He was a printer for many years with Ketchum Printing, finishing his career at Print It. Ed was an avid Blue Bomber fan and a long time season ticket holder, enjoying the short walk to the old stadium from his home.

I met Ed when he lived in his West End house, along with his mother and sister. He loved photography and had installed a studio and darkroom in the basement. He excelled at portraits and his nieces and their children were good subjects. He also had many friends who were willing to pose.

I moved to Winnipeg in 1982 and joined the Manitoba Camera Club in the mid-80s. That first year I was paired with Ed to work on a project entitled “Colours”. We chose to showcase “make-up”; you can guess which part I did and which part he did! Our presentation did not win but the time working together “developed” into a friendship.

We started bicycling together. He had a 10-speed and I had a fold-up 3 speed. Not quite the match! He had camping equipment, I had none.

Before I met Ed, his summer holidays were often spent driving East and West with his family. He also did many solo day-trips and went camping. Since he was by himself on those trips he started putting his hat on a sign or a post and take a picture, either to identify the location or to say ED WAS HERE. (no GPS on cameras then) . Once he prepared a slide show for the Camera Club titled: “The travels of the yellow hat.” His presentation was a hit and members remembered it for a long time.

A few days before my 40th birthday in 1985, I was having lunch on the docked Paddlewheel Queen with friends. In the group was a hot air balloon pilot. Going for a balloon ride for my birthday was very tempting. Who should I share this adventure with? I called my friend Ed from the boat and asked him to say YES or NO without telling him about my plan. Ed had never been aloft. This was the beginning of many adventures to come.

The jet-setter and the printer got married 2 years later. Because of photography it was a no brainer: we used the same camera equipment which meant we could share lenses.

We settled in Wolseley where we lived for 28 years. Ed made me a rose garden in the front, the envy of neighbours. I had a vegetable garden in the back.

Since photography was our bond, we had a darkroom. We entered monthly competitions at the camera club in both prints and slides. We also submitted entries locally (RRX) nationally (Calgary stampede) and internationally through the Air Canada Recreation Association. The ACRA “Shows” would be held somewhere in Canada, the USA (i.e. Vegas) or overseas like London or Frankfurt.

We also prepared slide shows for members’ night at the Club using 2 slide projectors synchronized to music and using a dissolve unit. Some of those were also shown at seniors’ homes.

Ed was a Scrapbooker: 1 yearly book for local events and 1 for travels. Cards for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentines, no reasons at all days were all carefully crafted and personal. If one of us was not home when the other came home from work, a note/card was to be found on the toilet seat.

Ed had a timer on his watch set for 12:30. It was a reminder to return to work after his lunch break. When he was not at work, that ring was ours and we kissed, “no holds barred”.

Adventures: A canoe maybe? But that meant swimming lessons at the Sherbrook Pool for Ed (He managed the width) and paddling lessons at the Mint’s retention pond. We bought 2 paddles, 2 life jackets, 1 bucket, 1 whistle; that’s as far as it went; paddles were eventually sold in one our yard sales which were an annual event for 25 years.

How about going in the wilderness on horseback for 10 days? For photography’s sake? Why not? Ed had never been on a horse so I suggested that he should maybe get a little equestrian know-how at Bird’s Hill Park before going. His answer was: Why should I ache twice?

Travels: for our foreign trips we used Lonely Planets, Rough Guides, Fodor’s. We searched for places outside the tourist traps. We walked side streets where locals live and shop. On our driving tours in Canada and the US we chose country roads and sometimes got lost. We believed that the getting to a destination was part of the journey.

Retirement more freedom, more adventures more photography:

- We joined a Leisure Cycling Club.

- We house-sat a few times at my cousin’s B&B in France

- We embarked on the Dreams Take Flight, for 5 consecutive years. A 100% Air Canada volunteer-driven charity that facilitates groups of special needs children to experience the world of Disney. Our job was to create photo memories of their single day at the Magic Kingdom.

-We also did a few ocean cruises as well as 1 cruise on the Danube.

Our life together gradually started unravelling. We sold our house, moved in an apartment in Osborne Village for 3 1/2 year then moved to a retirement community for another 3 1/2 years.

Ed was diagnosed with Alzheimer. It became impossible to keep him with me. I had to let him go into the care of others. This was a very hard decision. He spent 6 months in Supportive Housing at Lion’s Manor. He was well taken care of but his behaviour had drastically changed. He was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and he had to move to a Special Care Unit at Deer Lodge where he resided for 3 1/2 years until his death. With comfort care from the excellent staff and me camping in his room for 5 days he died peacefully in the early morning hours of September 22, 2026.

If you wish, you can make a donation to the Alzheimer Society or to the Deer Lodge Centre Foundation.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 603 Wellington Crescent on Academy (First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg).

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

1833 Portage Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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