Lucy Fisher, South Central PA
Lucile Ellen Fisher, was born in Lancaster County PA at St. Joseph’s hospital on February 26th 1955. She left this world Wednesday August 16, 2023, at 68 years old, at Reading hospital in Berks County.
She is survived by her children,Tammy Rosing (daughter) and her husband Matthew Rosing, Charles Snyder (son) and his wife Patricia Snyder, Loretta James (daughter) and her husband Allen James and Crystal Fisher (daughter). Her grandchildren, Mckenzie Snyder, Cassidy James & Isaac James, and Elliott (Snyder). Her Siblings Gloria Weaver (sister) and Lee Wiley (brother).
Lucile (Lucy) was a loving mother, very caring, giving, welcoming, and a family oriented person. She was born into poverty and was never able to escape it, no matter how hard she worked, often working multiple jobs at any given time period throughout her life.
Lucy comes from a poor working class southern background. Her mother, Doris L Wiley, was born in Georgia, married and moved to Lancaster County PA with her husband, at a very young age, mostly to escape poverty.
Lucy has struggled all throughout her life to get her basic human needs met. Severe health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer all run in her immediate family thus making her at High risk to develop those health conditions, which she did.
Over the years, as she aged, and was unable to hold down the level of work she did throughout her life she went on disability which made it financially hard to cover healthcare costs and she only received what the system deemed she was “worthy” of receiving.
Besides her struggle with meeting her healthcare needs she also struggled with housing insecurity at times in her life. In adulthood she moved back home with her parents for a time, with her two children in tow, while going through a separation and divorce of her first husband.
She remarried a few years later, had two more children and they moved around at times through the years as things got tough. Either because income changed, or a major expense or emergency happened, or the slumlord let their place of residence deteriorate.
Despite her constant struggle all her life, working the majority of her waking life and not getting her needs met she still held values of love, family and kindness. This is more than evident with what she last wrote to one of her daughters in agreement with something her daughter said about the system and the way we operate the world.
These are those final words, may we take heed to what Lucy is saying to us and join a movement to end the suffering we all face…..
“Very true. Too much greed in the world, too much hate, too much of us against one another. Love one another, help one another out, no matter what color you are, no matter who you are, what race. If you ever see a homeless person on the street, give them a couple dollars. They can’t help that they don’t have any place to go – the rent is so high, what do you expect with the government being so greedy, so we just gotta pull together.
“Love one another, keep our faith in God and care for one another. If your neighbor needs help, try to help them out. If you see an animal on the street, give it shelter. If you see a crippled person on the street that is crossing the street or needs help, please help them.
“Sometimes I need help getting in my house after arriving back from dialysis and I have to wait on somebody to help me or call 911 because my porch has steps. It’s hard to get somebody to do that for me. When you’re old and you get home, a lotta people don’t want to help you out and say the hell with you, so just look out for people and love one another.” -Lucy Fisher
Below are personal reflections from Lucy’s children, grandchildren and son-in-laws expressing their love for Lucy and what losing her feels like and how it’s affecting each of them.
Tammy Rosing, daughter, Lancaster County
When my momma was recently diagnosed with a tumor mass on her kidney it scared me. I felt something deep down inside that the clock was ticking but I stayed hopefully and prayed that she would get what she needed in time and be with us awhile longer, but alas that didn’t come to pass.
During the weeks following that diagnosis and before she passed I did a lot of going down memory lane and found myself listening to that Dolly Parton song “Coat of Many Colors” my favorite line from the song is “I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be”.
We may have been poor but it wasn’t because our momma didn’t work hard, she actually worked multiple jobs at one time, and I know she wishes she had more time to be with us kids.
If we organized society via a system that puts the needs of the people over profits our mother would still be alive. This system we live all our lives under not only has the majority of people struggling to make ends meet while a few hoard all the wealth they gain from our struggle, this system also shapes us into the people we become and forces us down paths that lead us to the decisions we make.
My momma began to understand all this and why she supported the organizing work with Put People First! PA, The National Union of the Homeless, Freedom Church of the Poor and the PA Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival that myself and my husband are a part of.
Momma I never doubted you wanted me. I knew and heard stories about how happy you were to be a first time mom, you really wanted to be a mom. We may have gone through a series of trials and tribulations but I never truly doubted your love for me and I hope you never once doubted my love for you.
I love you and I will miss you until I see you again. Please give nanny a big hug and kiss for me. I will do my best to keep the promises I made to you the day you passed. I can only do what’s within my control. I will do my best to look after my siblings and make sure we stay connected…. Love you momma.
~ Tammy has struggled for years to get her healthcare needs met. She worries the longer it takes to meet those needs the worse her health condition will become and she struggles with the thought of what the outcome will be for her if she doesn’t receive the care she needs.
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Charles Snyder, son, Berks County
When I was told my mother was in the hospital I thought it was something simple that she would be home soon. Within a day I was told it was serious this time and I still did not think that I would lose her.
The third day when everyone was asking me to come to hospital and I finally did
and saw her my heart almost stopped. She did not look herself and the panic set in and I knew I wasn’t ready. The next day we were asked to meet at the hospital by the doctors I did not want to go.
For the first time I realized I was gonna lose my mother and I have not been the son I should of been and I begged God for another chance. That day my mother was gone and I realized, as I looked around, I was given another chance by her to reconnect with my sisters.
She held on long enough to bring us together and showed her love for all us until the end and that’s who my mother, the most loving person I will ever know, was.
~ Charles and his wife currently live in a motel. They live paycheck to paycheck. He has health insurance through his job at McDonald’s and his wife isn’t covered and is uninsured.
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Loretta James (daughter) & Family, York County
I love and miss you so much mom. Thank you for being a great Mom and Grandma. RIP!
Love,
Loretta James, daughter
I miss and love you Grandma. Thank you for the gifts you gave to me.
Love,
Isaac James, 8 yrs old, grandson
I miss and love you Grandma.
Love,
Cassidy James, 5 Years old, granddaughter
I love and miss you Mom. We all could learn a lot from how kind you were.
Love,
Allen James, son in-law
~ Loretta and her husband each work 40-60 hours a week, live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet.They work opposite schedules so they are sure at least one of them is home with their two children. Which leads to limited time together as a family and the means to do most family activities.
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Crystal Fisher, Daughter, Berks County
It just hurts and you know the kind of hurt that’s kind of indescribable like you have words for it but you can’t find them, you know the feeling but you can’t tell them where it hurts.
You just know it hurts all over. Have you ever gone to the hospital for pain management and you’re like, I know exactly where it hurts.
It’s my knee but with this one it’s like I don’t know, Jesus, it’s my knee, my heart, my chest, my back, my shoulder, my face, my head, my mind, my throat.
Some days I feel sick out of nowhere. My stomach hurts. It’s the kind of hurt that takes your breath away or wakes you up in the middle of the night and you can’t quite go back to sleep.
It’s the kind of hurt that makes you slide down in the back of the shower and you can relate to those scenes in the movies. Where you’re like, who cries like that? Well now you do. It’s the kind of hurt that on the days when you’re so happy all of that goes away because there’s something missing, something missing from every good day. ?
~ Crystal was living with her mother and working two full-time jobs while her mom was still with us. She is now experiencing the loss of one of her full-time paychecks. She’s losing her caregiver paycheck from being her moms main caregiver as well as her mom’s monthly social security check. Which means if the apt complex she lives in doesn’t allow her brother and his wife to move in with her she will be facing homelessness because of the loss of her mother.
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Mckenzie Snyder, granddaughter, Lancaster County
I’m gonna miss you. I didn’t want to lose you. You were always there for me when I needed you. I’m gonna miss everything about you.??? RIP Grandma
Matthew Rosing, son in-law, Lancaster County
Lucy was a bright shining light in this world. She made me feel 100% accepted and loved in her family. I’ve never been so accepted by someone from the door. Her death was caused by this greedy profit driven system. She could’ve had many more years with us if she could’ve gotten the treatment she deserved. But due to greedy healthcare profiteers she is no longer with us. Lucy you are counted with the Saints. We have to organize. We have to fight!
~ Matthew is Lucy’s son in law. He is currently on many meds for mental and physical health that could be changed if he was able to access the newer treatments and alternative medicines. He is currently on Medicaid, which is very limited with treatment options.
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