Muriel A. Fisher, 81, Was Woman of Many Interests

Muriel A. Fisher of West Tisbury died Sunday, Sept. 26, at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was 81. She was born Muriel Althea Loud on March 8, 1923, to Ethelyn and Lorenz Loud of Springfield, MA. On April 9, 1952, she married Fred Fisher Jr., who predeceased her.

In 1955 the couple bought Nip 'n Tuck Farm, where they farmed and raised their family. Muriel was a woman of many interests who enjoyed dancing, playing the violin and playing bridge, which was her passion. She was an accomplished seamstress and gardener whose produce consistently won prizes at the Agricultural Society fair. A strong force in the annual fair, along with her husband she organized and ran horse shows and horse pulls for draft horses. She was a great lover of all animals, most recently the late My Toy, her beloved dog, who traveled to Florida with her during recent winters. She was an accomplished horsewoman and also transported horses for other people.

For many years she maintained a milk route, delivering milk and eggs around the Island. She was an expert cook, noted for her penuche, fudge, pickles and baked beans. She often hosted spaghetti dinners for her friends. In the sixties she taught her friends to dance the Twist, and her annual Easter Egg hunts were a great favorite of neighborhood children and adults. She was known as a generous hostess, opening her home to those who needed a home-cooked meal or a bed for the night. She carried on this tradition when she opened her Lambert's Cove home as the Seahorse Bed and Breakfast in her later years.

Muriel joined the Lambert's Cove Methodist Church in 1958 and served as its treasurer for decades. Her Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations were known for generosity, originality and abundance. She made efficient use of the farm produce she worked so hard to provide.

Muriel is survived by her daughter Sandy Fisher and Sandy's daughters Anya and Constance Toteanu; her son Fred S. Fisher 3rd, his wife Betsy and their children Shane, Brett and Prudence; her brother in law Donald Fisher and his wife Tina, all of West Tisbury. Her sister, Dorothy Elwell and her family reside in Spring Hill, Fla. Her brother A. Robert Loud of Longmeadow, also survives, along with many nieces and nephews. She will be greatly missed by her loving family.

Interment was at Lambert's Cove Cemetery Saturday, Oct. 2, with Rev. George Eli officiating.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society, PO Box 73, West Tisbury, MA 02575; or Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, PO Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Arrangements were under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs.