“I am truly honored that someone came up with the idea to name a portion of the highway after him,” Gail Fischer, his widow, said Friday. “There have been so many honors that he’s been given that I just can’t say enough to the people of Greene County, Ohio how much I appreciate it.”
Fischer died suddenly in November 2021 after suffering a medical emergency while attending a Buckeye State Sheriffs Association convention in Sandusky.
Credit: Greene County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Greene County Sheriff's Office
“I’m thankful. I’d rather have him here than going through all this, but that’s not possible. He deserves it,” Gail Fischer said. “Every person has a story. I’m grateful to hear those stories. They never get old.”
The “Sheriff Gene Fischer Memorial Highway” is located south of Xenia, the county seat, between U.S. 68 and U.S. 42.
“To see my friend’s name up there on the sign is going to be a good feeling — to know long after we’re gone, people are going to see Gene Fischer’s name,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “It’s one way that we could honor someone who really was a very, very special person.”
Fischer began his law enforcement career as a volunteer with the Fairborn Police Department. In 1983, Fischer was hired as a full-time officer with the Xenia Police Division, and served in that capacity until he was appointed sheriff on June 30, 2003, exactly 20 years before the day of the highway dedication. Fischer was subsequently re-elected to the office five times.
Being sheriff was his lifelong dream, said current Greene County Sheriff Scott Anger, who was a longtime friend of the late Fischer.
“Today’s special for me because these are the things he did for everybody else. He was the guy that was having the ceremony for everybody else,” Anger said. “So I know he’s looking down on us and he’d be proud.”
Fischer was an avid supporter of the Greene County Fair and promoted youth 4-H clubs for the entirety of his career. He became a licensed amateur radio operator and started the first 4H Ham Radio Club after the Hamvention relocated to Greene County.
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