Sherry Fischer (’75) believes in the magnitude of Gonzaga connections. Hers were more powerful than a volcanic eruption and inspired her to give back so that a new generation of Zags can join the network that gave her so much over the years.
Fischer grew up the daughter of a car salesman in Yakima, Wash. She spent six years in Catholic school and the following six in public school. As a junior at Davis high school, she began to consider her future and sought out the advice of the school’s guidance counselor. That would become the first of her many Gonzaga connections.
“One of our counselors was a woman who had graduated from Gonzaga,” recalled Fischer. “Her name was Rosemary Rief. She believed in me and encouraged me to apply. She even arranged a trip for those of us who were interested in the University—a train ride to Spokane where we got to stay in dorm rooms and visit for the weekend.” Fischer remembers exactly what her counselor told her about going to college. “She said, ‘You can do it!’ It was because of her encouragement that I made it to Gonzaga.”
Fischer’s family’s income was dependent on the rising and falling tides of car sales; her college plans could have been equally as uncertain were it not for the scholarship she received.
“I got a full ride scholarship,” she said, adding, “books, everything.”
She started out at without a particular major in mind, but quickly found herself at home in the theology department.
“It was very vibrant at that time; there were many theology majors in the year ahead of me who were very inspirational,” she said. “I wanted to be like them.” One woman in particular stuck out in Fischer’s mind. “She was a non-traditional student, which, in the 70s was very non-traditional. We ran into each other several times over the years at a party and at a funeral for someone we both knew. It’s just amazing how you connect and reconnect with people from Gonzaga.”
Fischer’s parents weren’t sure about their daughter’s chosen path of study. She often explained the many career options that she could have with a degree in theology and how the many aspects of the field fascinated her.
“There’s language, history, literature, archeology, cultural anthropology, sociology, and religion,” said Fischer, adding, “I knew I’d never get bored.” She was right—she didn’t get bored—in part because she took the advice of a young Jesuit named Stephen Ring, S. J.
“Look for the good teachers,” he advised, “because it really doesn’t matter what they’re teaching. You will learn from the good teachers. Some look for the easy teachers, but you learn more from the good teachers.” Fischer found many good teachers during her undergraduate study at GU, including Ring, from whom she took a philosophy course. He was also Fischer’s academic advisor and suggested she take a course from Fr. Fredric Schlatter, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She found that not only was Fr. Schlatter a good teacher, but that he provided her with the encouragement she needed at exactly the right time. She was applying to graduate schools when he told her, “You will do fine in graduate school.”
It was during her graduate studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago that she met her husband, Dr. Thomas Kearney. The two decided to get married in Yakima in May of 1980, and had just arrived in Seattle when the most catastrophic volcanic event in the United States took place.
“Mount St. Helens erupted the weekend before our wedding and we were stuck in Seattle,” she explained. “It was so surreal—there were people in Yakima having their weddings wearing masks, but there wasn’t a scrap of ash in Seattle. We were still able to get married thanks to a friend from Gonzaga who I was able to ask for help.” She called a classmate of hers who knew exactly what she’d be looking for in a church. His mother, with whom Fischer had stayed during visits to Seattle during college, offered up her home for the wedding reception. “Again, it was the Gonzaga connections,” Fischer said with a smile.
After six years in Chicago, Fischer and her husband decided to come home to the Inland Northwest, where they have remained since. She works at Saint Aloysius Church coordinating funerals. She was working on a funeral at Jesuit House in 2013 when one of her Gonzaga connections came full-circle.
“I was at the front of the room and I heard this voice from the back,” Fischer recalled. “I thought right away, ‘I know that voice!’ and sure enough, there stood Rosemary Rief (’64) and her husband Cy (’60).” She made her way to the back of the room to reintroduce herself to the woman who believed in her and played such an integral role in launching Fischer’s Gonzaga journey.
“I said, ‘Mrs. Rief? My name is Sherry Fischer. I went to Davis high school and you encouraged me to come to Gonzaga back in 1970!” Rosemary and Cy were visiting for Zagapalooza and were wandering around campus reminiscing. Rosemary and Fischer spoke briefly before Fischer had to get back to her work. As the Riefs left, Cy turned back to Fischer.
“You just made her day,” he said.
Like Rosemary did for her, Fischer likes to encourage youth to consider Gonzaga, particularly those in the parish at Saint Al’s. She works with Gonzaga University and Gonzaga Prep students through the church, talking with them about their goals and paths of study. She tells them about the connections Gonzaga provided for her and how they’ve helped her along the way. She also enjoys reassuring young women who are getting married in the church, “You probably won’t have a volcano erupt—anything below that, you can handle.”
Fischer has taken that encouragement another step further through her many gifts to Gonzaga. She has generously supported the Zag Scholarship Fund, the Fund for Gonzaga and several other University initiatives over the years, and has included Gonzaga as the beneficiary of her retirement account. Through her planned gift, the Sharon A. Fischer Scholarship will be established, providing a need-based scholarship to students from Eastern Washington.
“It made all the difference in the world,” Fischer said of the scholarship she received. She hopes that her pledge will help future Gonzaga students to learn and grow in the same supportive environment she experienced.
“It’s been wonderful to be working on campus these last 17 years and to see some of my former professors,” Fischer added. “I’m grateful to be able to thank them for their contributions and support that enabled me to work for the Church and at St. Aloysius Parish all these years.” She also encouraged all alumni to come back to campus for Zagapalooza 2015, saying, “You never know who you’ll run into!”