Esther Mary (Jo) Fisher

Jo loved her family, God, her community, her Yukon and her Canada. She had a deep gratitude for her life in this special place in the world.

She was born Esther Mary Ewing to Elizabeth Belle (Grant) Ewing and Matthew Henry Ewing in Dawson City, Yukon, on November 7, 1929. Her mother nicknamed her “Jo,” a Scottish term meaning sweetheart. Her father was in the Signal Corp. in the Army, which had them travelling all over Canada in her childhood, but she mainly grew up in Dawson City and graduated from high school there.

Jo loved learning and went to Sir George Williams Business College in Montreal as well as UBC in Vancouver. She first met the love of her life, Kippy Fisher, when she was a baby and he was a youngster; their families crossing paths at the Regina Hotel in Whitehorse when Kippy’s family was just arriving in the territory, and Jo’s family was heading out.

Jo and Kippy met again as young teenagers in Mayo and after a long courtship, were married in Mayo in the St. Mary’s Anglican Church on August 9, 1952. Jo worked for Gordon McIntyre in the Mining Recorder’s Office in Mayo.

Mayo was a busy town with strong social and community involvement. Jo was involved in the Women’s Auxiliary to the Anglican Church, and community fundraising. She and Kippy spent fun times with the family at the family cabins at Minto Lake.

Jo and Kippy’s first two daughters were born in Mayo, Elizabeth (Liz) in 1954 and Catherine (Cathy) in 1956. When the girls were two and three years old, the family moved to Whitehorse so Kippy could work for White Pass. In Whitehorse, son Mark was born in 1959, Kristine in 1964 and Nicole in 1967—the same year the family took a trip to see Expo 67.

While raising their five children Jo also assisted Kippy in his business ventures, one being the Dairy Queen, with bookkeeping and other duties. She was a very active member for 40 years, of the Women’s Auxiliary. Her kindness and compassion showed in various volunteer activities—with the Canadian Cancer Society, Brownies, Parent-Teacher Association, and other school volunteerism.

Jo spent lots of time with her children and was constantly driving one of them to sports and staying to cheer them on. In the days when Yukon summers were hot she would make her famous “chocolate cake with white icing,” bring hot dogs, load up all the kids and neighbour kids and head off to either Fox Creek campground, Robert Service or Army Beach and let the kids enjoy themselves.

Every summer, the whole family would pile into the car and make the very dusty road trip (no pavement in those days) back to Mayo for a week or two of family holidays at her parents’ log house. Her sister Suzanne and brother John had nine children between them so there were lots of children running about and playing. At Easter time Jo and her family would hide Easter eggs all over the Mayo airport and there would be an enormous hunt on Easter morning. Someone would always find a rabbit’s foot! Every Christmas the road trip was made (usually at 30 or 40 below) to spend the season with the family. The 14 children would drag out the old bookcase for a stage and make up impromptu plays for the cheering adults. Jo’s Christmas baking was always a hit and she would make 14 or 15 different baked goods! There would be 22 at the Christmas dinner at the table in the old log house living room!

At the age of 53, Jo started a new career as owner/operator of Plantation Flowers and Gifts along with her two daughters Liz and Cathy. She helped to bring a beautiful thriving business to the community. Jo was very creative and designed beautiful storefront windows that everyone enjoyed. She was active in every aspect of the business but mostly enjoyed customer service. She loved the customers, seeing them happy and seeing their love of flowers and plants.

Jo loved and was deeply committed to family life and saw it as the cornerstone for a strong community. She held family dinners every Sunday and often included friends and singles—usually there were 15-20 more people. She wanted to make sure they were loved, felt welcome and cared for. She fell in love with her nine grandchildren. As with her own children she cared for them with love, patience and understanding. She had strong ties with friends and was a champion bowler and curler and bridge player. She loved theatre, dance, travel and fashion. She and Kippy could always be seen dancing up a storm at any event, and were usually the last ones to leave the dance floor. As a young woman in Dawson City, she and her cousin Rosemary were noted for being very fashionable, ordering their stylish clothing from the catalogues in Montreal.

She was incredibly resourceful in every aspect of her life, making ends meet in hard times, finding answers in her job, and supporting her children and husband. Cathy remembers one morning when she announced to her mom that she needed an Easter hat that morning for school. Jo whipped out a plastic milk jug, cut out some modifications, attached a bunch of recycled ribbons and flowers to it and sent Cathy off to school to win first prize for her hat!

Jo had deep roots in the Yukon. Her grandparents, John and Mary Grant, moved to Dawson in 1906. They are buried in the Pioneer Cemetery under the same headstone in Dawson City. Her great uncle Robert Henderson was the co-discoverer of gold on the Klondike.

Though she loved to travel, especially to Vancouver and Hawaii, Jo never considered a life any place else. They took several family trips to Vancouver, which was her favourite southern city. In the early 1970s, Jo and Kippy took a whirlwind ten-day trip to Europe. She loved the culture, history and art, especially Paris where they went to the Moulin Rouge! Although she was not fluent, Jo loved the French language and would often throw out French phrases in her everyday life. In the late 1990s, her uncle, Christopher Grant, left her a small inheritance. She decided the only thing she wanted to do with the money was to take all of the family to Hawaii. True to form, she arrived on departure date with names and badges for everyone that said ”Fisher Family Fun Tours Maui ‘97”. Much family fun was had in the sun, sea and sand.

Jo lived the last ten years of her life with Alzheimer’s Disease. Kippy and the family cared for her until the disease progressed and she spent the last few years of her life at Copper Ridge in Whitehorse. Even in her illness, she continued to be the same caring person she always was. One of the care givers tells of Jo visiting and checking on a fellow resident who was soon to pass on. She would spend time sitting with the family to comfort and console them.

Through thick and thin and even in the end, she danced and laughed and loved and always said, “We’re so lucky.” Jo passed on August 22, 2010, and is laid to rest in the Mayo cemetery beside her beloved Kippy.