By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Jan Ko Fisher, one of the founding volunteers for International Community Health Services (ICHS), passed away on Dec. 7. She was the longest serving board member in ICHS’s history, filling that role since 1975.
ICHS CEO Teresita Batayola said, “[Jan] was our direct connection to ICHS’s past. She represented our soul. She was always quietly supportive, always there, and deeply proud of ICHS.”
Ko Fisher graduated from the University of Washington in 1971 with a medical technologist degree. She had worked as a clinical laboratory scientist at Seattle Children’s Hospital for many years, starting in 2001. She had been recruited to the cause by Dr. Allen Muramoto, another activist and founder honored by the ICHS Foundation in 2017.
One lasting legacy Ko Fisher leaves behind is her active involvement helping ICHS create a brand-new 40,000-square-foot medical and dental clinic in Shoreline in 2014. She served as co-chair of the fundraising steering committee.
In 2018, Ko Fisher was honored at ICHS’s 45th anniversary Bloom Gala with a Sapphire Award, recognizing her extraordinary leadership.
“She was such a sensitive, sweet, happy person,” said Jon Nakagawara, ICHS co-founder and ICHS’s first director. “I’ll always treasure that memory of her personality.”
Hiroshi Nakano, a long-time ICHS board member, added, “Jan was a low-key, consistent, committed board member, who was devoted to the cause of serving our patients. She will be missed by all of us.”