I'm sad to report that one of National Underwriter's former Washington editors, Mary Jane Fisher–dubbed the “Helen Thomas of the insurance press” by my colleague, NU Life Weekly Editor Steve Piontek–passed away recently at the age of 90. For those of you Inside The Beltway who dealt with Mary Jane as a source or subject of her stories, you'll no doubt remember her as I do–as a classy, fair-minded, savvy professional. She was one of a kind–a keen reporter who never lost her passion for journalism, and never let herself be tainted by the cynicism that poisoned so many Capitol Hill beat reporters.
As I said in her Washington Post obit, Mary Jane never lost the thrill of the chase, cutting through the myriad machinations in D.C. to get to the heart of the matter at hand. She never failed to focus on the impact of D.C. developments on our agent and insurance company readers, rather than get caught up–as it's so easy to do–in the minutia of procedural votes and backroom horse-trading that dominates Washington.
I will always remember her as the elegant lady who followed politics with the same passion I saved for baseball. She knew all the key players, their strengths and weaknesses, the IOUs they had outstanding and the markers they held against others. She took a special delight in getting to the bottom line, which in Washington back then and now so often comes down to naked power-brokering, rather than principles.
I will also remember the patient teacher, who filled in a young assistant editor at the time–yours truly–about the weird and wild ways of Washington, and who served as a gracious hostess at some of the finest restaurants in town whenever I made it to D.C. She was a fabulous reconteur–a key ingredient in her successful storytelling for NU.
Steve Piontek, in his own column about Mary Jane, noted that he particularly appreciated his Washington colleague because “we were in sync politically, two liberals covering a predominately conservative business…But whatever Mary Janes politics, they never interfered with her fair and impartial coverage of events and legislation on the Hillno matter which direction those events took.”
Steve described Mary Jane as “a grand lady, and Ive missed her since she retired back in the late summer of 2001. Ill always remember her with love and fondness and will always consider it my privilege to have worked with her.” (To read Steve's entire column about Mary Jane, click here.)
Steve Brostoff, our former Washington bureau chief, who is now associate director of media relations at the American Council of Life Insurers, wrote to add the following kind words:
“I had the privilege of working with Mary Jane in the Washington bureau for nearly 15 years. Her knowledge of Congress, how it works and how legislation affects the industry, was invaluable in making National Underwriter the most respected voice in insurance journalism not only with subscribers, but with members of Congress, staff and federal officials. I'll never forget her generosity in sharing the benefits of her experience and extensive contacts with me.”
Thomas J. Slattery, my former editor, had this to say about Mary Jane:
“I spent most of my 35 years at National Underwriter speaking with Mary Jane Fisher. I treasured every moment. I think she did, too. When she passed away, an era passed with her. Remarkably, she worked on the Washington insurance scene as a reporter and columnist into her eighties.
“In her day, she delivered more than her share of gloomy news to her avid readers of National Underwriter and other publications. But no one killed this messenger. They flat out liked her and respected her too much for that–and so did I.
“She was aggressive, thorough and loved what she did. Plain and simple, she was a tireless, dedicated, meticulous wire service Reporter (capital R) of the old school. Thats my epitaph for Mary Jane. I think shed like that.”
David Katz, my former right hand here at NU as assistant managing editor, who has gone on to a multi-prize-winning journalism career as deputy editor at cfo.com, wrote: “As far as I'm concerned, Mary Jane was the sweetest person in Washington during her many years as a correspondent there, and maybe since. Her knowledge of the legislative process was deep and wide, and she seemed to know everybody. She also greeted me and many other visiting journalists with her great warmth, making us all feel perfectly at home in the environs of that musty old Washington Press Club. I'll miss her.”
Mary Jane was a marvelously kind, sweet and decent person, and you couldn't find anyone who would tell you otherwise. She would have loved the rough and tumble of this seemingly endless presidential campaign as we stagger to Election Day. If there is a newspaper or magazine in heaven, you can count on Mary Jane to get you the inside dope, and give you a laugh or two along the way. May she rest in peace.
If anyone who remembers her would like to comment, feel free to do so here. You may also learn more about her life by reading portions of her official Washington Post obituary, below. As you'll see, Mary Jane led quite a life before she even joined NU.
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She was born just before New Year's Eve on Dec. 31, 1917, in Berkeley, Calif., and grew up in Seattle. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1931 and worked as a reporter and editor at the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Coos Bay World, in Oregon.
While in Seattle, her first editor was Anna Roosevelt Boettiger, the eldest daughter of President Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, her obit noted.
“In her spare time, she served as a forest fire spotter, looking for blazes started by Japanese incendiary devices that floated into the Pacific Northwest on weather balloons during World War II,” the Post noted.
“She joined the Navy Waves in December 1942 and was a public information officer at the old Sand Point Naval Air Station near Seattle. In 1945, she was among the staff handling publicity at the first United Nations meeting in San Francisco,” her obit pointed out.
“The next year, in Des Moines, she married an assistant solicitor in the Commerce Department. The best man was then-Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace, a former vice president who was the Progressive Party's candidate for president in 1948,” the Post reported.
“After settling in Washington in the early 1950s, Mrs. Fisher worked for a congressman, was the National Symphony Orchestra's public relations director and served as a Commerce Department speechwriter,” according to her family's obit.
“In the mid-1960s, she became press secretary to India Edwards, the vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, who worked on women's issues. She helped handle the news media for the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago,” the obit noted.
Mary Jane was a proud member of the National Press Club since 1971–when women were allowed to join as full members, her obit pointed out.
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Mary Jane was a grand lady indeed, as anyone who crossed paths with her soon realized. She was a character with character. Our condolences to her family.
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