Obituary for Pete Fisher

By ISabella F.

On Thursday, July 24, 2025, the community of West Columbia was hit with devastating news of the passing of Peter Lloyd Fisher. He was 63. Many got the chance to know him through his attendance at Airport High School and UofSC as he played baseball and basketball, work around the city in the engineering field, and the love for his church.

A family member confirmed that a police officer showed up at one of the families house to inform them on Friday, July 25, 2025, that the day before he was rushed to the hospital due to cardiac arrest and sadly did not make it.

Born in Columbia, South Carolina on October 12, 1961, to Frances and Maxie Fisher, he was the oldest sibling in his family. He is survived by his brother, Michael (Erin) and Jeffery (Christina); children, Zachary and Katie Fisher Anderson (Jordan); nephews and nieces, Miles (Kate), Chase (Sarah), Andrew (Iris), Hannah, Blake, Abigail, and Isabella; and grandchildren Margot and Ellis.

Fisher attended and graduated from Airport High School (1975-1979) where he lettered in the sports basketball and baseball during the years he played. After AHS, he committed to Baptist College located in Charleston, South Carolina to play collegiate baseball. Further on in his college career, Fisher decided to transfer to the University of South Carolina. In 1984, he played collegiate baseball at UofSC and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.

Fisher had provided multiple services around the state as an engineer and helped out the family business, Fisher Iron Works, for a period of time alongside his grandfather (Chester), father (Maxie), and brother (Jeffery). Michael Fisher, the middle brother to Pete, gave the information that “his proudest professional accomplishments [was] helping construct the new USC Law School building in 2016 and playing a key role in restoring the historic Taylor House at USC in 2024.”

He was a real special person, it was known that every time somebody mentioned a complex subject, he would know exactly what to say. One topic in particular was airplanes, he could talk about all of his knowledge right then and there, no matter the occasion. This is what made him approachable and allowed him to gain a friend every time he left the house–being able to talk about anything. Fisher’s strong love for aviation was maintained throughout his life, having earned his Private Pilot’s License earlier in his life, and decided to return to UofSC in 2020 for a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering.

His love for sports was shown throughout his life, and though his main sports were basketball and baseball, he shifted to handball and quickly became an expert. He traveled across the East Coast for tournaments and regularly played at Tri-City Leisure Center in West Columbia. Fisher, too, was an umpire for high school baseball, sometimes umpiring at Airport High School games. He coached and played church softball in his free time.

Fisher was a loyal member to his church, West Side Baptist in West Columbia, and showed it through his actions and leadership. He was Royal Ambassador (RA) leader, led Bible studies, went on mission trips, jumped at every opportunity to feed the homeless in downtown Columbia, had a position as deacon, involved in VBS and sports/arts camp, and helped maintain the church.

Primarily, Fisher was a family guy. He loved spending any time that he had with his family, having lived next door to most of them, he would randomly go over and visit them, bring them candy, and invite them to Carolina events. One of his nieces gave this statement about him, “He was always so enthusiastic and energetic about every aspect of life. He would always help out with my school homework if needed, sit with me on the phone for twenty minutes to explain how airplanes fly, and always tried to make me a handball professional, even letting me score on him so I would not give up and quit.”

Thompson Funeral Homes stated, “A funeral service [was] held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at West Side Baptist Church, 2100 Platt Springs Road, West Columbia, SC 29169. [The] visitation [took] place the same day from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the Family Life Center of West Side Baptist Church.”