Gerald P. Fisher

“Geep” Fisher--the nickname came from his initials, GP, and started in childhood--had been looking forward to his son Jonathan’s wedding, scheduled for Sept. 23. Now the nuptials have been postponed while the Fisher family tries to cope with its loss.

“He was a tremendous, tremendous person,” said Alexis Radoca, 29, Jonathan Fisher’s fiancee. “He was optimistic and joyful; a great prankster. And he took care of his family, either financially or through humor. If you had a problem, you could always go to him, and he’d help you work through it. One of the hardest parts of all this is that there’s no one to go to now.”

He started a pre-Thanksgiving potluck dinner tradition when he was “single”--between his first and second marriages--which endured throughout the 17 years he was married to his second wife, Christine. More than 100 people would show up, each bringing something, while he cooked at least three turkeys.

A sports fan, Fisher worked 12-hour days, and he would come home on the weekends and watch tennis and football on television, Radoca said.

Fisher, 57, lived in Potomac, Md., and had worked at Booz Allen for 14 years. He was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles. His mother, Muriel, lives in San Diego, and a sister, Elsa, lives in Long Beach. He also leaves a daughter, Serena Dugan.

He was a graduate of San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University) and received degrees from the California State University system in social welfare and from the University of Pennsylvania in city planning. He also received a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in social welfare.

He worked six years as an associate professor at the universities of Texas and Wisconsin.

“Everyone was charmed by Geep,” said Joyce Doria, a senior vice president at Booz Allen. “He was a person who could always convince you that something was doable. He always had some crazy story, and he was always there for someone with a problem. People adored him.”