Charles "Chuckie" Edward Fischer

Tributes~Charles "Chuckie" Edward Fischer

Charles "Chuckie" Edward Fischer
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Date of Birth: 
September 7 1945
Date of Death: 
August 5 2016

Charles Edward Fischer died unexpectedly on August 5, 2016 while on a trip to Nicholville, New York. Chuck was a life long resident of Savannah, Georgia, but was visiting Nicholville with Kelly O'Brien-Dickey.

Chuck or Chuckie, as he was known by family and friends, was born September 7, 1945. He was adopted by Catherine Gildea Fischer and grew up in the family home on Wilmington Island. As a child, Chuckie attended Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School and was a communicant of Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Thunderbolt. (Photos below: First Holy Communion and standing at the bottom of the steps outside church.) He is an alumni of Benedictine Military Academy and earned his Bachelor's Degree at Armstrong State College in Savannah.

Chuckie served in the Georgia National Guard for 17 years and was a member of the George K. Gannam American Legion Post 184 in Thunderbolt. Chuckie was a Senior Building Inspector for the City of Savannah. He also worked for Jim Rush Enterprises, the Southside Fire Department, and was a charter boat Captain.

Chuckie is survived by his domestic partner, Kelly O’Brien-Dickey and his nieces and nephews: Frank, James, Ignatius "Nash", Kim, Neil, Robert, Steven, Katherine and Sandy Fischer; Kathleen "Sissy", Joseph, Neil, Christopher, John, Michael, Beth, and Stephen Russell.

A funeral service was conducted by Father Patrick O'Brien at Fox & Weeks Islands funeral home on August 14, 2016 with interment on August 15 at Bonaventure Cemetery.

Chuck was the kindest person you'd every want to meet - easy going, willing to help anyone, and always with a smile on his face. The story below was shared online by Captain Judy Helmey on August 7, 2016. Permission granted.

Dear Family,
I was so very sadden by the loss of my old time friend Chuckie. Although we haven’t spent a lot of time together lately we definitely did in the seventies and eighties. However, when we did see each other it was normally a quick walk down memory lane. In the seventies and eighties Chuck and I spent lots of time doing carpentry work for Jim Rush Enterprises, going out on his house boat, and riding around in his old car. I believe it was a Buick, but not sure. All I remember is that it was big and we called it the land barge. I do remember Chuckie telling me that he found a lifetime warranty from Minus Mufflers in the glove box. And what did he do? Well, he took the old car by for an inspection of the exhaust system and he got big thumbs up from the inspector. He laughed, “It was free too!”

If there ever was a true MacGyver it certainly could have been Chuckie! He knew just about anything you cared to ask him. Quite often he would come down to our house to help us with the boats. My father, Captain Sherman I Helmey, was a grand mechanic and he had his ways for sure. However, when Chuckie arrived at his own conclusion my father tended to listen, even though he acted like he did not!

I remember this one time that my father and Chuckie were on the Miss Jerry, which was tied to our dock. Daddy was at the helm and Chuckie was lying face down on the engine. After making a few adjustments to who knows what, Chuckie said, "Crank her up." Daddy while sitting at the helm pushed the cranking button and the caterpillar cranked up perfectly. However, there were a couple of things that happened and I mean fast. Back in those days you could crank your boat in gear and in some cases this might happen when you weren’t ready for it. Well, when daddy cranked the boat, the throttle wasn’t in idle and the gear handle was in forward. Chuckie did such a great job of getting the Miss Jerry cranked that she just took off. When I heard Daddy’s engine crank, I stood up just as all of this unfolded.

The first thing that happened was the boat raced forward pulling out both of the 4x4 dock corners as if they were tooth pick size. With dock lines dragging 4x4 posts, they grazed the neighbor’s dock and then were headed for the next. All the while Chuckie was trying to get up to help get control of the boat. Somehow Chuckie did manage to get to the helm and shut the boat down before it hit the next neighbors dock. After that, they pulled the boat back around to the dock while dragging the dock lines that were still tied to the 4X4’s. Once at the dock we all did quite a quick make shift so that we could tie the boat up. My father, as he most always did, was wearing his standard white T-shirt. When he turned his back to us we all looked and could see Chuckie’s foot print on the back of daddy’s shirt. While holding a beer Chuckie said, “Sorry Sherman, there was only one way to the helm, which was up and over your back!”

I will miss seeing Chuckie out and around the Island with that signature smile on his face! He will always be remembered by me through all of the things that we did prompting the stories that we told! My sincere condolences go out to the Fischer family!

Captain Judy Helmey, Savannah, Georgia

Media data: 
Place of Birth: 
Georgia, United States
Place of Death: 
Nicholville, New York, United States
Primary State of Residence: 
Savannah, Georgia, United States

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