Obituary of Marvel Mirriam McFarlin Fisher

Marvel Mirriam McFarlin Fisher 

 

Marvel Mirriam McFarlin Fisher  was born on November 18, 1922 in Burchinal, Iowa, the daughter of Orpha Haagen McFarlin and Oren McFarlin.  She passed away on February 16, 2023 at the age of 100.

Marvel was the second of 4 surviving girls who spent most of their childhoods in Mason City, Iowa.  She found a passion for music early in life as she learned to play piano and sing.  She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in nursing in 1945.

She met the love of her life in 1946 at a Roger Williams Fellowship gathering.  Glenn Fisher was a WWII veteran and a student at the University of Iowa.  They married on September 4, 1949, and had three children and 69 years together.  Glenn’s career as a college professor ultimately took them to Wichita, Kansas where they spent 40 years.  They also lived abroad on several occasions for sabbaticals and traveled extensively together.

Marvel discovered the handbells in the 1970s through a choir at First Baptist Church in Wichita.  She was so intrigued that she expanded her interest in music to learn to conduct bells and play bell solos. Over the years, she conducted several church choirs and started a community choir, The Bells of Wichita, in 1983.

Marvel also discovered a love of painting. She joined art clubs and got progressively better, winning numerous ribbons over the years.

To be closer to their daughter, Marvel and Glenn moved to Holly Creek Retirement Center in 2012 and joined Calvary Baptist.  But she didn’t slow down as she continued to paint and started yet another bell choir at Holly Creek! 

Marvel is survived by her son Paul and his wife Debbie, son Gary, daughter Rhonda and her husband Randall. She has 4 grandsons, Mark, Michael, Brandon, and Justin, and a grand daughter-in-law, Kate.

Memorial Gifts in honor of Marvel may be given to:

Sudan Interior Mission 
c/o Don & Muriel Stilwell (#054483) 
retired missionaries that Glenn & Marvel supported for many years

 

• Give online:  simusa.org/give
  • Under SIM Worker or Project, type "Don and Muriel Stilwell (#054483)"; check "I am giving on behalf of an organization," type "Marvel Fisher Memorial Fund"
• Give by check: SIM USA Donor Care, 14830 Choate Circle, Charlotte, NC 28273-9105 
  • Memo line: Don & Muriel Stilwell (#054483);"In memory of Marvel Fisher"

– OR –

 

 

Calvary Baptist Church of Denver

 

 Give online:  calvarydenver.org/give

• • Under Giving Type, choose Memorial Gift; in memo, type "Marvel Fisher Memorial Fund"
• Give by check: 6500 E. Girard Ave. Denver, CO 80224
  • Memo line: "Marvel Fisher Memorial Fund"