“I don’t want to sit around and do nothing,” she said. “That goes against my grain.”
After raising five children and retiring from Copeland Refrigeration Corporation, a neighbor suggested that she join the senior center to play cards. The center was located elsewhere then but decided it wanted a home of its own, and Fischbach joined the steering committee when the center was being founded in the 1990s.
She has since participated in many other committees and was on the center’s board of directors for 12 years. The center is a good place to go for exercise, bingo, cards, socializing and more, she said.
“Their calendar is full from one day to the next,” said Fischbach, who has made many friends there over the years.
The center is supported by several agencies and offices, but annual dues and fundraisers – like the quilts she creates – help keep it going.
Mike Fischbach, who nominated his mom as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem, said she has made quilts for about 40 years, including for all of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. She also has customized the size and color of quilts she makes for others, with the proceeds going to the senior center.
“She’s got a great heart,” he said. “She does nothing but think of other people.”
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