Peter Fischer

Peter A. Fischer passed peacefully from this life on Saturday, October 31, 2020. A brief service celebrating his life will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, November 20th at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home, Rockport, TX.

Pete was born to John Peter Fischer and Isabelle Frances McVay on June 15, 1936 in Bradford, Illinois. The family moved to Kewanee, Illinois where he attended public schools and began to reveal the incredible talent and ingenuity for which he would be known his entire life. He played varsity football, earned the coveted rank of Eagle Scout, and was selected as the Kewanee High School yearbook art editor, a title that afforded him the opportunity to design new diplomas and a yearbook cover. After designing the cover of The Kewanee Story: A Centennial History, he won an annual art award from KHS, the earliest of many honors his art would receive throughout his life, and the piece would be displayed at the high school until 2000.

After high school, Pete was accepted into the University of Illinois as a pre-med student. He pledged Sigma Chi and aspired to be one of the five leading medical illustrators in the world, a skill that appealed to both his meticulous nature and his artistic soul. His talents would earn him acceptance into the medical school at prestigious Johns Hopkins University. After the death of his father, however, Pete would return to Kewanee to care for his little brother, John, working as a draftsman and laying the foundation for his future successes.

On May 17, 1958, Pete married Maree Anne (M.A.), the woman who would remain at his side for the rest of his life, and together they would travel the globe, build businesses, and bring three beloved children into the world.

While building a career in commercial artwork, sales, and marketing with Martin Engineering, Pete was afforded the opportunity for international travel and he saw great potential for precast concrete operations. In 1972, he created Martin Concrete Engineering in Ft. Worth, Texas, and he designed and patented machines for precast concrete systems that would be used for placing and finishing large building components. His systems would be used in the construction of the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, and to build two sizeable plants in Abu Dhabi, producing 5,000 houses in the United Arab Emirates. Success and growth necessitated a move to Waco, Texas and the formation of Western American Concrete, operational for a decade. Pete would then join TransCon Engineering and, in 1989, would be instrumental in starting Air Control Science, Inc. before working for CCC Group, where he would remain until his retirement in 2006.

In spite of his well-known work ethic, Pete also found time to instill in his children a love of the outdoors and an active, involved life. Many family memories were made on a 504 acre stretch of land outside of Waco, where the Fischers created a hunting and fishing resort that became a favorite spot for holiday functions, boys’ weekends of hunting and fishing, and enjoying M.A.’s delicious cooking. Later, Pete and M.A. retired to “the good life” in Rockport, where beautiful views and a thriving art community would keep them happily involved, and where Pete’s appreciation of the excellent food and service at the local restaurants ensured that the staff knew him by name.

It was in Rockport that Pete rediscovered his love for painting and, once again, his talents would quickly be rewarded. During his later-life renaissance, he would produce over 50 paintings, displayed at the Rockport Center for the Arts and local galleries, and in 2010, he would be honored as a Merit Artist. One of his paintings, titled “Texas Royalty,” hangs in the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University, and many prints of his stunning work hang in the homes of friends and family across the country. Pete and M.A. took pride in reinvesting sales from his paintings and prints back into the art and wildlife preservation communities, and Pete was a dedicated member and treasurer of the Rockport Center for the Arts Board. Never one to relax for too long, even toward the end of his life, a visit to the Fischer home would likely find Pete, still sharp and well-read, buried in a book on his tablet or talking to the television, annoyed by the play of his beloved Dallas Cowboys or Baylor Bears.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of more than 62 years, M.A., their children, Rebecca and husband, Paul, Michael and wife, Nichole, and Matthew and wife, Dedra, as well as his brother John and wife, Faye, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and numerous friends.

Pete was an astute man, and he used this skill to not only build an incredible life, but to leave a lasting legacy in his family, who are proud to carry on his intense work ethic and attention to detail, his appreciation for the beauty and simple pleasures of life, and his generosity in utilizing his personal successes for the betterment of the family and community he was so passionate about. His life was a collection of stories and the kind of wisdom that can only be gleaned from one who has seen the world, not only through travel but through the successes and failures, the sorrows and the triumphs of a life lived fully and finished well. Forever an artist, what he has left behind for those who love him is indeed his greatest masterpiece.

To honor Pete’s memory, donations may be made to the Rockport Center for the Arts “Peter Fischer Memorial Scholarship Fund” to further his passion for art education. Please mail donations to the Rockport Center for the Arts, 638 E Market St, Rockport, TX  78382, or in person at the Gallery at 406 S Austin Street, Rockport, TX  78382.  Contributions may also be made online at www.rockportartcenter.com under the Donate button, and designate the scholarship fund.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping with social distancing orders, all necessary restrictions will be observed in order to protect the health and safety of those in attendance. Wear face coverings while inside the building. Continue to practice social distancing while inside the funeral home chapel. We continue to ask that those at risk or those not feeling well stay home and reach out to the family through our obituary page.