John W. Fiske Obituary
John Wyman Fiske of Marstons Mills, formerly of Boxford, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on May 7, 2022 at home surrounded by his loving wife and sons. Born in 1928 to Wyman Parkhurst and Ruth (Nichols) Fiske in Boston, John grew up in suburban Waban for most of his childhood before the family moved to Scarsdale, New York in 1944, where he finished high school. Summers were spent at an old farmhouse in North Wolfeboro, New Hampshire that his parents spent years restoring. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Swarthmore College in 1949 and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1951. John met the love of his life, Jane Soop Fletcher (Swarthmore '52), in college where she was a classmate of his sister Esther, and they were married October 2, 1954 in Selkirk, New York.
After graduating from Business School, John worked for Corning Glass Works for 18 years in a variety of roles, rising to become a member of all top management committees. He left Corning to join Towle Silver Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts as Vice President in charge of Manufacturing. After Towle, John became an independent management consultant, raising capital for a variety of privately owned businesses, as well as developing long term strategic plans for both foreign and domestic companies.
Trained as an engineer, John embraced new technology throughout his life, building his computers from scratch in the early '80s and teaching himself programming. He channeled an interest in architecture into an addition to the family's house in Corning and an overhaul of existing plans for the house in Boxford where he and Jane lived for 45 years. His enthusiastic carpentry skills produced cherry kitchen cabinets and a pirate-ship treehouse for his sons in Corning as well as many feet of built-in bookcases for both houses. He loved travel, opera, mysteries, and attending family reunions in North Wolfeboro. Up until his death, he followed the markets closely and had an avid interest in politics and current affairs.
John is survived by his wife Jane (Fletcher) Fiske, sons William Wyman (Anna) and Thomas Winn (Laura) Fiske, grandchildren: Rebecca, Gillian Alexandra, Victoria, Benjamin and Thomas Fiske; and the children of his beloved sister: Jonathan, Anne and Timothy Doherty. He was predeceased by his sister Esther Fiske Doherty.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to: VNA Hospice The Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation P.O. Box 370 Hyannis, MA 02601.
