Fred Disher was “a really good man.”
The 2012 Pelham Citizen of the Year died Sunday in Hamilton.
Fenwick Lion Harry Cumming said Disher, 73, was a very good Lion, a very dedicated volunteer “one of the most dedicated people” he ever met.
For the Fenwick Lions, Disher ran the club’s Santa Claus and Lions Carnival parades and served as club president.
He was the parade organizer for Canada Day driving the Citizen of the Year in his vintage red Mustang.
“He was always calm and cool, never flustered ... except when he became the centre of attention such as when he was named Citizen of the Year,” said Cumming.
Former Pelham Cares president Jane Gilmour remembers Disher as “always being very supportive” when the former financial adviser served on the Pelham Cares board as treasurer.
The retired, teacher, principal and superintendent “nurtured people along as the educator he was”, she said.
“We miss his smile and twinkling eyes.”
Pelham Cares will honour Disher at its annual meeting in March.
Fred Disher and his wife Bernice of 35 years were long-time foster parents taking in about three dozen children over the years.
They had nine children, seven of them adopted.
Fred grew up in Dunnville with three sisters and started teaching in a one-room school in Bertie Township at 19.
His family said in his obituary, he could fly a plane, was a carpenter, and directed musicals. He was an accomplished organ, piano and accordion musician
Disher himself said, when he was named Fonthill and District Kinsman’s Citizen of the Year, he became a volunteer “to get to know people” when he moved to Pelham 20 years before.
He became well known for organizing parades, acting as treasurer for Pelham Cares, and as a volunteer with the Pelham Community Policing Committee.
He was licensed to perform marriages. He officiated at one during the Fenwick Lions Biketoberfest.
“He went down to Clare’s to buy leathers so he would fit in,” said Cumming about the motorcyclists’ marriage. “The couple were delighted with how he handled it.”
Mayor Dave Augustyn described Disher as “an amazing man” who shared his gifts with the community for many, many years.
Through the Community Policing committee, the mayor said he worked to make Pelham safer with initiatives like speed watch, neighbourhood watch and safety days for Pelham’s children.
The familly will receive friends at the Ballard Minor Funeral Home, 315 Broad St. E., Dunnville, on Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
Funeral service will take place at Community Lifespan Centre (Dunnville Memorial Arena) 275 Ramsey Drive on Thursday at 11 a.m. Interment Port Maitland Cemetery.
Donations can be made to Pelham Cares (Fonthill) or Dunnville Hospital and Healthcare Foundation.
