TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Two beloved educators and Tucson community members have tragically passed away.
Muriel and Paul Fisher, both in their 70s, died last month in New Mexico.
Their bodies were pulled from the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences on June 18. Sierra County Sheriff Joshua Baker later told media there was no danger to the public or suspects being sought, but the deaths were under investigation.
The sheriff also says a rental car believed to belong to the couple was discovered, per the report.
Friends of the couple spoke with KGUN 9 on Wednesday, shaken by the news.
Annie Bunker knew Muriel and Paul for nearly 40 years, “professionally as artists, as educators, as close friends.”
“They were an incredible force of power as a couple in terms of being resourceful and always speaking their mind,” Bunker said, praising their sometimes brutal but necessary honesty.
“Our sons grew up taking improvisational theatre classes with Paul,” Bunker added. “They just loved him, as all children did. He just had a way of reaching, and reaching into a child’s spirit and soul and pulling out creativity.”
Before she recently retired, Muriel was an accomplished linguistics professor at the University of Arizona. Her colleagues are still processing the heartbreaking news.
“Muriel was a wonderful and amazing person,” said Natasha Warner, professor and department head for UArizona’s Department of Linguistics. “She was brilliant, she had a wonderful understanding of the language.”
Muriel, who is from Scotland, researched and taught Scottish Gaelic.
“And she was a wonderful teacher,” said Warner. “I had a message from a student just this morning that he took three years of Gaelic language with her, and it was wonderful.”
A colleague and close friend Andrew Carnie, another UArizona professor of linguistics, shared the following statement with KGUN:
Muriel Fisher, a native of Glendale on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, was widely recognized as a world expert in Scottish Gaelic language, culture and traditions. She taught Gaelic at both the University of Arizona and at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College on Skye, and she worked as a researcher in the linguistics department at U of A investigating the unique properties of the language. In 2015 she was recognized for her work with the Excellence in Community Linguistics Award from the Linguistics Society of America. Muriel was known for her deep love of sharing her language and culture with others. She was also a source of joy, glee and magic. She will be deeply missed.
