By Steve Fisher

For The Salisbury Post

God puts lots of different people in our path along life’s journey … for lots of different reasons. Some to comfort us, to challenge us, some to teach us, some to care for us or allow us to care for them … the interactions are endless. But every so often we come across the person whose purpose is to simply walk beside us and share our journey. I’ve been blessed in my life that one of those people was Daisy Carleen Fink.

From the moment I drew my first breath, Daisy has been a part of my life. For all of the 55 years that I have been on this planet, either Daisy or Mr. Paul (or both) have walked through the doors of F&M Bank regularly. I grew up with her as part of my family … she worked at F&M with my dad, and her son Dwayne and I were childhood friends and teammates. Some of my fondest early memories of Daisy included: ice-cold lemonade under the shade of her carport on hot summer days after playing pickup basketball at the Faith courts with Dwayne, hearing her timidly shout encouragement from the stands at an East Rowan baseball game or calling me early in the morning at college to help me “fix” my checking account before Dad found out. She helped train me as an F&M teller during my college summers … and she continued to train me as a teammate until the day she passed.

Daisy had a PhD in “service.” She was valedictorian of Granite Quarry High School. My grandfather recruited her to F&M, where she would spend the next 63 years teaching a master class in service. She was competent, kind, patient, empathic and radiated positive energy through her smile and her disposition. She set the standard for service at F&M that we strive to achieve each day. For Daisy it was all about helping people. She was a social worker in banker’s clothing … carrying her faith and kindness on her sleeve for all to see.

For me personally, she was a mom, a mentor, a teammate, and a friend. She shaped my life in so many ways, by intentional acts and quiet examples. Like my father, I am truly a better person for having shared my journey with her.

Last week I turned my head for a moment and she continued around a bend in the path ahead of me. I’m certain that she and Dad are there waiting for me to catch up … fortunately they are patient and will allow me to travel at my own pace. The journey is hard but they have taught me how to navigate the path and how to avoid the pitfalls that lie ahead. I couldn’t ask for better travel companions and I look forward to the day we reach our destination, together.

Steve Fisher is CEO of F&M Bank. His remembrance of Daisy Fisher was a part of his “Bank Notes” for the November employee newsletter.