Elizabeth Fisher

1910 - 2004  (93 years)

• Name	Elizabeth Fisher
  Born	19 May 1910	Mendocino, Mendocino Co., CA
  Gender	Female
  Died	9 Feb 2004	Portola Valley, San Mateo Co., CA
  Obituary	23 Feb 2004	San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA
  	San Francisco Chronicle
  	STEDMAN, Elizabeth Fisher - A longtime Palo Alto resident, died February 9, 2004 at the age of 93. She was known for her unusually strong spirit which helped her to rise above the hardships facing her from the time she was a child. She will be remembered for her great originality, creativity and independence. She was born on May 19, 1910 in the manse of the Presbyterian Church in Mendocino, CA where her f ather, James Melville Fisher, was the minister. Her mother was Agnes Grace Garrigus. At the age of five, her family moved to Gilroy, CA, where her father continued his work as a minister. Influenced by his duty in the Army medical reserve in World War I, he decided to change careers and in 1919 moved his family to Palo Alto where he became a medical doctor and began his practice. A month later Elizabeth's mother was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and spent most of the next four years in a hospital in Southern California, finally losing her brave battle to the disease in 1923. The following year, when Elizabeth was fourteen, her father was killed in a railway crossing accident. She and her brother, James, were subsequently raised by their aunt, Edna Garrigues, in Palo Alto. Elizabeth graduated from Palo Alto High School and from Pomona College. She taught elementary school in Mountain View before she was married in 1936 to Marcus Stedman, a Palo Alto architect and builder. They resided in Palo Alto where they raised three children. Her husband predeceased her in 1980, and in 1990 she moved to The Sequoias in Portola Valley. She had many interests including the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital where she was a longtime supporter. She had a lifelong fascination with the stock market and spent many years studying and tracking it. She was very interested in plants of all kinds and spent many hours in the garden and with related activities. She loved visiting the family cabin at Fallen Leaf Lake, continuing to drive herself there and to fully enjoy the beautiful surroundings and rustic, simple life in the mountains, including sleeping in her sleeping bag outdoors there through her late eighties. She also spent much of her time at the family home, which she loved, in Carmel, CA. For several decades she stayed close to many of her dearest friends including those in sewing, reading and investment groups; in recent years she made many new friends at The Sequoias. Elizabeth is survived by a son, Jon Marcus Stedman and his wife, Zarina, of San Francisco; daughters, Janet Stedman Gibson and her husband, Lay James Gibson, of Tucson, AZ, and Jean Stedman Robertson of Palo Alto; grandsons, Thomas Arthur Stedman, Stephen Wood Gibson and James Stedman Gibson and his wife Stacy; and many friends. A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, March 4th at 10 a.m. at Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, 770 Welch Road, Suite 350, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Please indicate that your gift be added to the Elizabeth F. Stedman Fund for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
  Person ID	I3342	Stedman Families of the United Kingdom
  Last Modified	13 Jan 2010

  
  

  Father	Rev. James Melville Fisher,   d. 1924
  Mother	Agnes Grace Garrigus,   d. 1923
  Married	Bef 1910
  Family ID	F1106	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Marcus Hunt Stedman,   b. 23 Jan 1906, Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., OH ,   d. 19 May 1980, ____, Santa Clara Co., CA  (Age 74 years)
  Married	1936
  Children	1. Jon Marcus Stedman   2. Janet Stedman   3. Jean Stedman
  Last Modified	13 Jan 2010
  Family ID	F1105	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 19 May 1910 - Mendocino, Mendocino Co., CA Died - 9 Feb 2004 - Portola Valley, San Mateo Co., CA Obituary - San Francisco Chronicle - 23 Feb 2004 - San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA  = Link to Google Earth