Former Wheeling school board member and township trustee
Politics were a part of Art Stawinski and Joy Fisher's life from the day the couple met at a political meeting in the late 1970s.
"We met in Chicago at a committee for equal rights," said Stawinski, Joy's husband. "We hit it off right away."
Joy Fisher went on to a long career in local politics. She was on the Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 school board and was a Wheeling Township trustee for four years. She was also a founding member of the Women's Leadership Council, a bipartisan organization committed to expanding political opportunities for women in the Northwest suburbs.
Joy Fisher, 52, died Monday after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was the wife of Arthur W. Stawinski and mother of Steven Fisher-Stawinski.
Besides her political work, Mrs. Fisher was also an attorney with an office in Long Grove. She mentored several law students and aided many practicing attorneys through her involvement with the Northwest Suburban Bar Association.
Mrs. Fisher lived in Chicago or the Chicago suburbs all her life. She lived in Buffalo Grove with her husband for the past 24 years. She first became involved in local politics in the mid-1980s when she won a seat on the District 21 school board, Stawinski said.
"She liked listening to people with opposing views and helping them figure out a solution," he said. "It was something she did very well."
After eight years on the school board and a short break, Mrs. Fisher was elected as a trustee on the Wheeling Township board. Once again, Mrs. Fisher was able to mend some serious political gaps, Stawinski said.
"I remember there was some dissention on the board, and Joy helped form an alliance with the Democrats and Republicans," Stawinski said. "They ended up running on a bipartisan ticket."
Funeral services for Mrs. Fisher will be at 10 a.m. today at Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, 1700 W. Rand Road in Arlington Heights. Interment will be at Shalom Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center.
For more information, call (847) 255-3520.