James Russell Fisher

James Russell Fisher, 97, of Kingsport passed away September 6, 2010, at the Asbury Health Center in Kingsport.

He was born March 11, 1913, in Weakley County near Sharon, TN. He attended the University of Tennessee Junior College in Martin, TN, and graduated from Lambuth University in Jackson, TN, and the LSU School of Banking in Baton Rouge, LA.

He was captain of the Lambuth football team his senior year. After graduation from Lambuth, he taught at the Sharon High School in Sharon, TN. He also coached the school football and basketball teams. Later he became the school principal. He entered banking at the Bank of Sharon in 1954 and retired as the bank?s CFO in 1980. He and his wife, Mae, moved to Kingsport in 1992.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Delmer and Delia Tise Fisher; his wife, Mae Speight; and two brothers, Wendell and Wayne Fisher. He is survived by two sons, James and Joe Fisher; five grandchildren, Andy Fisher, Russell Fisher, Rachel Fisher, Elizabeth Smith and Mike Fisher; three great-grandchildren, Hannah and Matthew Smith, and Foard Fisher; a brother, Warner Fisher of Scottsdale, AZ; and a sister, Mildred Clarke, of Dunedin, FL.

The family will receive friends on Friday evening, September 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gardner Funeral Home in Sharon, TN. Services will be conducted at 2:00 Saturday, with Max Speight officiating.