Garth Fisher

Arnold Garth Fisher passed away on October 8, 2026 at the age of 93 years. He was preceded in death by Geraldine Rollo Fisher (d. May 8, 2012) and by a daughter, Jamie. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Fisher, his children Charlene Pelton (Steve), Randall (Melody Cameron), Clark (Antonio Lombardi), and Karin Young (Brent). He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. With his marriage to Valerie Hubert on 12/5/2015, he acquired four stepchildren who absolutely adored him. He also became a step-grandfather to 17 children, and a step-great-grandfather to 17 more. In addition to raising his own children, he and Jerry took in four nieces and nephews and, for three years, a foster daughter.

Garth was born on May 18, 1933 in Orem, Utah to Byron Fisher and Cecil Mann Fisher, one of eight siblings. The family moved to Vernal, Utah, when Garth was six years old. There, he lived on a farm, awakening early to milk the cows. The family often hunted and fished. He was a versatile athlete, participating in basketball, football, and track and field in high school, and playing basketball for his college, as well. He attended Southern Utah University, where he met his first wife, Geraldine. They were married on December 29, 1953 in the Saint George temple.

Garth was a veteran, having served as a commissioned officer in the Air Force as a navigator, including flying refueling missions during the Vietnam War. He got out of the Air Force in order to spend more time with his family, going to graduate school at the University of New Mexico, earning a doctoral degree in Exercise Physiology.
After graduating, he took a faculty job at Brigham Young University, where he would stay for the remainder of his career, 33 more years. He was the Director of the Human Performance Research Center at BYU for many years, and taught both undergraduate and graduate classes. He was well known in his field and wrote several textbooks that were widely used. For 23 years he also had a weekly column about physical fitness in the Deseret News. He was an invited speaker at many conferences. He appeared on Good Morning, America, as well. He was an early advocate of exercise for all, and practiced what he preached. His interests also turned to weight loss; he co-wrote a popular book entitled “How to Lower Your Fat Thermostat.” He received many awards over his illustrious career.

Garth was a staunch and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his life, holding many positions over the years, including bishop, Stake President, and Sealer. He loved his calling as a Sealer, and often spoke of the blessings it brought him. He loved to worship in the temple often. He and Jerry also served a senior mission, organizing Institute Classes at BYU.

Golf was one of his favorite activities. He didn’t take up the game until his early 20s, but rapidly became quite skilled. He was an accomplished golfer and did well in a lot of tournaments. He loved to think about and practice his golf swing. He co-wrote an instructional book about golf, called “Golf: Your Turn for Success.” For a time, he was the assistant golf coach at BYU. In his later years, he watched a lot of instructional videos on YouTube and was always trying to find the perfect swing. He stayed robust enough to walk the golf course while playing well into his late 80s.

He enjoyed music, playing the trumpet in high school and the piano off and on his whole life. His strongest musical talent was his beautiful tenor singing voice, which he displayed in choirs, smaller ensembles, and solo works. He loved to sing, and often sang show tunes as he walked around the house. A couple of his favorites were "The Street Where You Live" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." He also frequently sang the tenor solos from Handel's Messiah, especially "Every Valley."

He discovered skiing in his 60s, and became a ski instructor at Sundance. He bought season passes and enjoyed skiing very much.

On a personal level, Garth was everyone’s friend. He was open, gregarious, warm, and inviting, and he always looked for the positive in others and in any situation that arose. These qualities endeared him to many. Everywhere he went, people knew him and greeted him enthusiastically. No matter how dire things seemed, Garth would find something positive and focus on it. He was honest and hard-working. He believed that if you had a task to do, you should do it to the best of your ability. There was no malice in this loving man.

He was a great example to all of us, and will be sorely missed.