The funeral for Fischer took place Wednesday morning at Cedarville University’s Dixon Ministry Center, with procession following for graveside services at Byron Cemetery.
About 600 community members and law enforcement officers attended Fischer’s funeral Wednesday morning, including Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife Fran DeWine.
Mark Atherton, Fischer’s pastor, said members of his congregation didn’t even know that Fischer was a public official.
“He didn’t have to prove anyone that he was the Sheriff. He was just Gene.”
Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth said Fischer uplifted those around him regardless of their social standing.
“He was a great counselor, a great friend,” Stanforth said. “That was his motto: I need to be there for you. What a legacy.”
Acting Greene County Sheriff Scott Anger called Fischer real and kind.
“The sheriff got things done,” Anger said. “Whatever his cause was…He was a champion for all of us.”
“Gene was a friend to the friendless,” Mark Brooks, pastor at A House of Prayer in Xenia said. “Some would want to put Sheriff Fischer on a political pedestal. He was not driven by politics. He was driven by principles. Even when it put him in the crosshairs of others.”
Fischer served as Greene County’s sheriff for 18 years and previously was with the Xenia Police Division for 20 years.
On Tuesday, the community paid their respects to Fischer during a visitation at Xenia Nazarene Church. More than two dozen Greene County Sheriff’s deputies saluted and community members lined the streets as the hearse carrying Fischer traveled from Belton-Stroup Funeral Home in Fairborn to the church.
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