Dorothea "Dolle" (Barto) Fischer

Dorothea B. Fischer passed away peacefully at her beloved Anchorage Farm in Lebanon, CT, on August 29, 2017, at the age of 93.

Dorothea adopted the nickname “Dolle” in her youth. She was born July 02, 1924, in Pittsburgh, PA, to Elsie Beck and Harvey F. Barto. She grew up in Crafton and Mt. Lebanon, PA, and graduated salutatorian from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1941. She then entered Mt. Holyoke College, where she spent two memorable years before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps as a Corporal from 1944 to 1946. She served her country post-armistice while stationed in Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany.

Upon completion of her military service, she returned to Mt. Lebanon, PA, to complete her BA at the University of Pittsburgh with majors in Library Science and Spanish. Dolle was strong-willed and always sought travel and adventure. Her father died when she was 13, and she convinced her mother and sister to move with her to Portland, OR. There she met and married Navy Officer Elmer M. Fischer on July 9, 1949, after only two dates. Over the course of the next seven years and with four moves coast-to-coast following Elmer’s station changes, Dolle and Elmer had five children. As Elmer was absent during periods on the high seas, Dolle assumed the role of both father and mother, taking her brood to many U.S. National Parks, hiking all but a few hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail, and camping in Europe and Mexico.

The family lived for five years in Sewell, NJ, while Elmer finished up his Naval career across the river at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Elmer retired in 1964, and the family settled at Anchorage Farm in Lebanon, CT. Over the next 53 years, Dolle made her home in Lebanon, becoming active in the community. Dolle was the first Municipal Agent for the Aging and held this post for 22 years. She was instrumental in the development of senior housing and the walkway around the Lebanon Green. She was named the first Lebanon Citizen of the Year and served as Secretary on the Windham Hospital Board of Trustees for 17 years. While the list of Dolle's accomplishments is long, she credited her greatest achievement to raising and educating her five children.

Dolle leaves behind Elmer, her loving and devoted husband of 68 years; children, Frank Fischer and family of Powderly, TX, Paul Fischer and family of Martinez, GA, Sally Coren and family of Lebanon, CT, Judy Mudd and family of Concord, NC, and Ted Fischer and family of Lebanon, CT; nieces, Wende Waters of Lake Oswego, OR, and Vicke Hammes of Tigard, OR; and nephew, John Wetzel of Washougal, WA.

A graveside service with military honors will be held on Friday, September 01, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lebanon Cemetery on Waterman Road. Family and friends are welcome. There will also be a Memorial Service 11:00 a.m. Saturday September 02, 2017 at The First Congregational Church 588 Exeter Rd. Lebanon, CT. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Lebanon Historical Society, P.O. Box 151, Lebanon, CT 06249. For an online memorial guestbook, please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com. 

 Service Information