Rev. Theodore Fischer | Lutheran pastor, 91

The Rev. Theodore L. Fischer, 91, retired pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in North Wales, died Monday at Lutheran Retirement Community in Telford.

Rev. Fischer graduated from Germantown High School and from Muhlenberg College in Allentown. After studying for a year at Princeton University, he earned a bachelor's degree in divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1940. For the next 12 years, he served in churches in Philadelphia and in Pottstown.

From 1953 to 1963, he was pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Mayfair, where he supervised the building of a new church. Then for three years, he was assistant to the bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and organized an inner-city ministry in Philadelphia.

From 1966 to 1981, he served as pastor of St. Peter's. After retiring, he assisted in many area churches. In 1990, he was interim bishop of the Lutheran Synod of Southeastern Pennsylvania for two months after the death of Bishop Lawrence Hand.

Rev. Fischer wrote Bible studies that were used by Lutheran congregations across the country. He served on the boards of Muhlenberg College and the Artman Home in Ambler. After moving to Telford in 1992, he was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels. He enjoyed travel abroad and tennis.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Frances Demme Fischer; a daughter, Dorothy Hoffman; a son, Jonathan; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A son, Andrew, died in 1983.

A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 107 W. Lincoln Ave., Telford. Friends may call from 9 a.m.