George Ludwig Fischer, 94, of Midlothian Virginia, died September 26
after a brief illness. He was born on July 16, 1926 in Frankfort,
Germany, the son of Ernst and Anne Fischer. The family emigrated to
the United States in 1934 and moved to Richmond when Ernst Fischer was
appointed to the faculty of the Medical College of Virginia. George
Fischer graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1943, attended
the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and earned his Doctor of Medicine
degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1951. He
served in the medical corps of the US Navy from 1944-1946. He married
Mary Lou Markham of Lynchburg, Virginia on July 16, 1949; they enjoyed
a celebration of their seventy years of marriage with family and
friends in July, 2019. Dr. Fischer was an intern, resident and
gastroenterology fellow at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri from
1951-1955. He practiced medicine for thirty-seven years at the VA
Hospital in St. Louis, Grace Hospital in Welch, West Virginia and
Alleghany Regional Hospital in Clifton Forge, Virginia, where he
served as Medical Director from 1988-1992. He enjoyed a teaching
career as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at the
University of Virginia and directed the teaching program in Internal
Medicine at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in
Lewisburg, WV. He was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians
and an active participant in multiple professional societies,
including the American Society of Internal Medicine, the Virginia
Society of Gastroenterology and the American College of Physician
Executives. He was involved in the leadership of the Virginia Society
of Internal Medicine, serving as President in 1983. Dr. Fischer and
his wife enjoyed an active retirement that included travel and the
study of military history. He was especially interested in the history
of Civil War medicine and frequently lectured and led round-table
discussions on the topic. Dr. and Mrs. Fischer moved to Brandermill
Woods in 2005 to be closer to family. He is survived by Mary Lou, his
wife of seventy-one years; and his sister, Eva Marx of Hingham, MA;
two daughters, Clare Schoenberg, of Havertown, PA and Sheila Dawson of
Ashland, Va.; and four grandchildren. He loved food and wine, good
cigars, the opera and Virginia Tech football, and for many years
hosted a special week of family, food and fun in the Outer Banks of
North Carolina. He treated medicine as a true vocation and was known
for his high standards and his constant pursuit of further knowledge
and understanding. He was a devoted husband, and his long and happy
marriage was perhaps his proudest accomplishment. Funeral services
will be private with interment in Hollywood Cemetery; arrangements are
being handled by Bennett Funeral Home. In honor of Dr. Fischer’s
commitment to small-town primary care, donations may be made to The
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Foundation, 400 Lee St., N.,
Lewisburg, WV 24901, with “in memory of George Fischer” on the memo
line.