Obituary of Grahme Paul Fischer

Grahme Paul Fischer, father of Geoffrey and Noelle Fischer, passed away in his sleep on the afternoon of Tuesday April 29th, 2025, at the age of 84.  

Grahme was a son, brother, husband, father, step-father, partner, and grand-father.  He leaves behind his sister MaryAnn and her husband John and their children Kimberly, Brian, and Kevin; his partner Arlene’s children Elise and Glen; and his own children Noelle and Geoffrey, his daughter-in-law Caryn, and his grandchildren Rowan and Myles.

Grahme grew up in Queens, where he met Sharon Shaw. The two of them were married and then shortly after the birth of their second child, they moved to Suffolk County where Grahme then spent all but this last year of his life. In the mid-eighties, Sharon and Grahme divorced.  Unlooked for, but delightfully that divorce brought a wonderful thing into play for Grahme- he met Arlene Stock. 

Grahme and Arlene were lucky enough to commence a long, loving and lasting relationship that lasted well over thirty years until the death of Arlene, in April of 2022. Grahme’s relationship with Arlene not only brought her wonderful presence into his life, but both of her children, Elise and Glen with whom Grahme forged deep and strong ties. He greatly enjoyed his time with Arlene’s children and grand children- these are memories he cherished along with those of his times with his own children and grandchildren.

Grahme, a Mechanical Engineer, was dedicated to and proud of his craft. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Manhattan College and his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University.  

After spending twenty-seven years at Grumman Aerospace, he left and opened his own engineering firm, Technical Problem Solvers, Inc. Grahme became a respected member of the Accident Reconstruction Community while running his business, which he did for 27 years. Too stubborn to give up his beloved work because he was “old”, he continued to run his business until he was taken to the hospital for an emergency 2 weeks before his passing.

In addition to working as an engineer Grahme made a point of giving back. He taught mechanical engineering at SUNY Stony Brook for five years in the early 80’s and was active in both civic and charitable organizations, often on their boards or helping to shape their direction.  A never-ending student of human nature and relationships- Grahme’s greatest joy and keenest interest, was his love of books. He spent the vast majority of his free time reading and running Great Books Discussion Groups. When his children were little he organized groups for them and their friends- eventually giving up on kids and realizing that adults were a more fruitful target- he focused his energy there! Grahme could be found to be leading up to as many as 4 Great Books Groups at a time and participating in even more than that. He and Arlene always looked forward to their summer Great Books Retreat in Colby Maine where they would spend an entire week with similarly aligned enthusiasts.

Grahme made it to 84 years old, he had a full and varied life with many, many interests, activities and many professional accomplishments- we would need pages and pages to list them all here. But we (Geoffrey and Noelle ) believe that the thing he valued most was his connection to all of you, his family and friends. He is and will be greatly missed.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Sierra Club at: Donations Sierra Club