Benjamin R. Fisher Jr. and his wife Linda have a longstanding history of philanthropic giving and work throughout their life together. Ben's life was only too short. He passed away on Sept. 8, 2002, of an apparent heart attack at the age of 50. The fund was created upon his death as a permanent endowment to support children, youth and the welfare of animals in the region.
Ben was born into a prominent East End family. His grandfather, Chester Garfield Fisher, founded Fisher Scientific, manufacturers of scientific equipment, formerly based in Uptown. Like his father before him, Ben dedicated his life to volunteer work, never seeking personal recognition for himself.
Yet he set himself apart from his family, beginning at an early age when he toured the H.J. Heinz Co.'s North Side plant in the third grade and decided that he would rather work for Heinz than his own family's business. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, attended University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in business administration, and returned home to realize his dream, working for Heinz first as an infant feeding Product Manager. He went on to hold several key positions at Heinz, eventually becoming Vice President of Business Development. He was Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications for PPG Industries at the time of his death.
"I was always struck by the fact the here was a young man out of a well-to-do family with a name in Pittsburgh who related so well to everyone in the company whether they were at the lowest level or the highest level," William Johnson, former Heinz Chairman, told the Post-Gazette in 2002. "He wanted to be a normal guy and wanted to be seen as having earned his way through life."
Ben embraced the family's legacy of philanthropy, serving in leadership positions on several charitable boards. He was Vice Chairman of The Pittsburgh Foundation and was slated to become Chairman of the Foundation, following Jim Broadhurst, Chairman and CEO of Eat 'n Park Hospitality Group, at the time of his death.
He also served as a Board Member of Pressley Ridge Schools for 22 years, a school that serves troubled children on the North Side. He was a deacon at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, a Board Member of the Carnegie Hero Fund and served on the Boards of Children's Hospital, Ellis School and Fox Chapel Country Day School, all beneficiaries of grants from the fund.