Michael J. Fisher

Longtime, well-known Talkeetna resident, Michael J. Fisher, passed away at his home on Feb. 8., following days of loving attention shown him by his sister, Margot, and his extended Talkeetna family of friends. He was 73 years old.

Mike was born to Thomas J. and Anne Fisher on April 7, 1936 in Detroit and grew up in northern Michigan where he graduated from high school in the town of Kalkaska in 1954. He then left for California where he studied at the Northrop Aeronautical Institute. Drafted in 1959, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort

Campbell, Ky., where he served for two years as a maintenance crew chief on deHavilland Beaver aircraft. During this time he acquired his pilot’s license and later earned his certified flight instructor/instrument rating certificate that he continued to hold for many years in Talkeetna.

Mike made his way to Alaska in 1962 and worked for a time as an aircraft mechanic in Anchorage. He eventually traveled to Talkeetna where he picked up odd jobs and befriended pilot Don Sheldon who ran a Bush operation, Talkeetna Air Service. In those days flights were sparse and all maintenance was performed by Sheldon, but during the late 1960s the operation’s traffic increased so much that Mike Fisher filled in as a part-time pilot and mechanic and emerged as a valued and skilled employee.

During this time he constructed his own home near the Village Airstrip.

Mike had an innovative and inventive mind and became known for his machinist skills. Over the years he slowly built up his state-of-the-art Talkeetna Machine Shop, which he operated out of the lower level of his home. His sister, Margot, remembers that this shop “was a creation that gave him great self-satisfaction and the enjoyment he found in helping other people to solve their problems.” It is also known that he did machinist jobs as favors for people that were unable to pay.

Mike met Suzanne Guimaraes, a graduate of Cornell University, when she came to the area to work as a farm hand at Milton Lictenwalner’s place just outside of Talkeetna. Both found a soul mate in each other and, in 1968, became a couple and eventually married. Both were intellectual equals and thrived in their mutual love for lives of simplicity and frugality. Besides their devotion for each other they had a shared love for Talkeetna, for building and working their vegetable gardens, for reading, and skiing, hiking and biking.

In the 1980s the two joined forces to build a wilderness retreat on a five-acre parcel of land along a small, unnamed lake south of Larson Lake. Their first creation was a small, modest A-frame shelter built of used lumber and metal roofing panels, which was thoroughly enjoyed for some years. By this time Mike had ingeniously designed and built his own portable log mill that he flew in pieces to the lake and assembled near the site. After the two felled and peeled their logs for a proper log cabin, Mike milled and notched them to fit. They built the cabin themselves. It still stands today. Next, they turned their minds to a lot they owned on the east side of Talkeetna, where Mike built his comfortable and unique “indigenous cabin.” Suzanne helped with the project and also built their second large vegetable garden there.

After 23 years with Mike, Suzanne succumbed to cancer and passed away in 1991. Mike’s sister said, “After she passed away a lot of the joy left his life.” But, she adds, that he continued to nourish close friendships and to become a mentor to younger people who were struggling with challenging circumstances in their lives. Mike was also a mentor to many pilots and aspiring pilots who began to arrive in Talkeetna, and for many years gave accredited flight instruction to many Talkeetna residents and others in the area.

An enthusiastic and devoted supporter of the Denali Arts Council, the Denali Nordic Ski Club, the Talkeetna Public Library, and local food banks, he contributed to numerous small charitable causes as well. Toward the end of his life he urgently encouraged all his male friends to be medically tested for prostate problems, so they might avoid the perils of same.

He is survived by his sister, Margot Dorn; his nieces Kate Phillips, Nancy Szejbach, Kathy Allen and Sally Klein; nephews Michael Dorn and Tom Dutcher; several cousins; and by a village full of friends. At his request his ashes will be scattered in places that he and Suzanne loved.

A memorial gathering is slated for Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Sheldon Community