Harriet M.(Archer) Fisher, 95

Harriet M.(Archer) Fisher, 95, of Franklin, MA passed away peacefully on November 30, 2022 after a brief illness.

Harriet was born on October 5, 1927 in Framingham, MA to the late Stephen and Marjorie(Crosby) Archer. She was the spouse of 54 years of the late Francis (Frank) Fisher who died in 2003. She spent her childhood in Baldwinville, MA, a village of Templeton, graduating in 1945 from Templeton High School and in 1949 from Boston University with a degree in journalism. She was their first female journalism major. She and Frank spent their retirement years at their home on Lake Populatic in Norfolk, and previously lived in South Natick and Sherborn.

She leaves her daughters, Deborah Lember of Framingham, MA and Diane Fisher of Wellfleet, MA, and was the sister of the late Henrietta DiSanto. She leaves her nephew Richard DiSanto of Northbridge, MA, niece Sarah Macneil of Dunstable, MA and nephew Sean Parkin of Oakland, CA.

Harriet was a lifelong social justice advocate, feminist and environmentalist who worked tirelessly for people and groups who were marginalized and underserved. She was a charter member of the Natick Fair Housing Committee and helped other towns establish their own. She was a Friendly Visitor to Framingham Women's State Prison, and to the housebound senior citizens of Norfolk and Sherborn. She established a Sherborn nature group and taught at a summer nature camp in Sherborn. She taught 4H cooking classes to boys. She was the Director of her Unitarian Church School in Natick, and also worked to dispel the stigma around mental illness.

She was instrumental in bringing the GATRA bus transportation to Norfolk. She was on the Norfolk Conservation Committee which prevented the Town of Franklin from drilling a well which would have adversely affected Lake Populatic. She was a member of the Social Justice Committee at the First Universalist Society in Franklin. She rarely missed an opportunity to attend their LiveArts classical music concerts.

Harriet was the first Editor of the Dover Sherborn Press, Public Relations Director for the Walnut Hill School and a reporter for several newspapers. She was a world traveler and never missed an opportunity to hop on a plane, train, bus or into her and Frank's camper. She traveled to all 50 states, and most of Canada, including the entire length of the TransCanadian Highway and the Maritime Provinces. She traveled to Transylvania, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, France, the British Isles, Greece, Iceland and Bermuda. In her later years she enjoyed listening to National Public Radio, her talking books from the Perkins School for the Blind and excerpts from the Boston Globe read to her by friends.

Harriet's message to us: "Use your brains and energy. Read a lot. Be useful in your family, your community, and the world, and maybe you can change things for the better."

A Memorial Service at the First Universalist Society in Franklin will be held at a later date. Burial will be private at Greenlawn Cemetery in Baldwinville, MA.

Contributions in Harriet's memory may be made to: First Universalist Society in Franklin, Memorial Fund, PO Box 316, Franklin, MA 02038-0316 Or: Perkins School for the Blind, Talking Books, 175 North Beacon St, Watertown, MA 02472