Gary and Barbara (Schemmer) Fisher of Kingfi sher will mark their 50th wedding anniversary Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

Both Fisher, the son of Gilbert and Alice Fisher, and Schemmer, the daughter of Frederick and Mary Jane Schemmer, graduated from Kingfisher High School, he in 1961 and she in 1965.

But the couple didn’t meet until 1971, when his mother played matchmaker and asked Schemmer if she would be interested in going out with her son when he was home visiting.

When Schemmer responded that she was interested, Fisher asked her out in a letter.

After that first date on Christmas Eve, 1971, Fisher and Schemmer became a couple, and then were married on Sept. 30, 1972, at the Federated Church in Kingfisher.

For the first 11 years of their marriage, the Fishers called Arlington, Texas, home, where Fisher worked in the aircraft industry and Mrs. Fisher was a stay-athome wife and mother.

The family returned to Kingfisher in 1983, where they operated a truck service and repair business until the oil bust, when Fisher transitioned to long-haul trucking.

Mrs. Fisher worked as a bookkeeper for 30 years, first at Oklahoma Seed and then at Eckroat Seed.

Along the way, they raised three sons: Kent Biggs and wife Patti and Curtis Fisher and wife Teresa, all of Topeka, Kan., and Wade Fisher of Greenwood Village, Colo.

Their grandchildren include Emma Biggs, a student at Emporia State University; Molly Biggs and Patrick Biggs, both attending Kansas State University; Timothy Biggs, a student at Bethany College; Daniel Biggs, a high school junior, Ethan Fisher, a sophomore and Isaac Fisher, a seventh grader, all of Topeka.

Since retirement, the Fishers continue to work their family farm and Mrs. Fisher keeps the farm and personal books.

Mrs. Fisher attributes their five decades of marriage to “a shared commitment with love.”

The couple will celebrate their anniversary at a reception from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the First United Methodist Church in Kingfisher.