About the Foundation

What Is the Blanche Fischer Foundation?

The Blanche Fischer Foundation was founded in 1981 from a trust established by the late Blanche Fischer. The foundation provides assistance to persons residing in the state of Oregon who have a disability of a physical nature who also have demonstrable financial need. The aid may relate directly to the disability or handicap, or may be otherwise used to foster independence. In accordance with the terms of Ms. Fischer's bequest, the foundation does not provide assistance for mental disability. One full-time executive director, who reports to a board of directors, administers the foundation.

Who Was Blanche Fischer?

Blanche Fischer was born in Long Creek, Oregon, in the northeast central part of the state (30 miles NW of John Day). A gutsy, bright woman, she personified independence by making a name for herself in Portland real estate investment in the 1930s and 1940s.

After retiring to the Lincoln City area on the Oregon coast, she donated the land and building to house the Driftwood Library, which until then had occupied a cramped, dusty storefront. The new library site, in fact, was next door to her home. When the library outgrew its quarters and finally moved in 1994, the former site was sold. Its proceeds continue to benefit the library through the Driftwood Library Foundation.

Blanche's greatest love, however, was her art. She helped found and stayed active with the now-defunct Lincoln Art Center until her death in 1980. A sampling of her paintings, along with personal memorabilia, are on permanent display in the Fischer Room of the Driftwood Library.

To the best of our knowledge, Blanche did not have a physical disability. Her attorney for the last decade-plus of her life, William K. Shepherd, and the original board members never knew precisely what motivated her to establish the purpose of the trust. (She was not married at the time of her death, and she had no heirs.) The did, however, note certain relevant traits: Even during her married years, Blanche was a self-made woman; she was fiercely independent, and respected others who made the most out of their lives, whatever the circumstances; she distrusted bureaucracy and loathed waste, which was why she refused to consider leaving her estate to any of the many well known national philanthropic organizations; she believed in libraries; she loved painting and playing cards; and she possessed both a Ladies' .22 and a sap.

Who Was Bill Shepherd?

William Kemp Shepherd was born in Portland on July 25, 1913. After graduating from the University of Oregon Law School, he began his 56-year legal career in Lebanon, Oregon, in 1938, where he was also elected city attorney. He served as a major in the infantry of the U.S. Army in World War II and played a key role in the Battle of the Bulge. In 1944, he married Ann Marcotte, with whom he had five daughters, and in 1945, he established a private law practice in Portland.

Bill Shepherd loved the law. He represented hundreds of Oregonians during his five-plus decades as an attorney, and one of these clients was Blanche Fischer, longtime Lincoln City resident and benefactor. When Ms. Fischer first decided to donate the former Driftwood Library building and land to Lincoln City, Bill was more than delighted to carry out her wishes. He fervently believed in libraries as the cornerstones of civilization and that maintaining a literate, educated and open-minded populace was essential to preserving the freedoms for which he had fought. He was thrilled when, a decade later, the Driftwood Library was forced to move to larger quarters because it had outgrown its former space, and worked with Lincoln City and Library officials to establish the Driftwood Library Foundation, which would benefit from proceeds of the sale of the former Driftwood Library property.

He worked with Ms. Fischer to create another lasting legacy, the Blanche Fischer Foundation. Since its establishment upon Ms. Fischer's death in 1980, the Fischer Foundation has helped hundreds of Oregonians with physical disabilities attain greater independence. Bill served as president and chairman of the Blanche Fischer Foundation until his death in March 1995.

He was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Portland for over 45 years, serving as elder, chair of the church's board of trustees and in other capacities. He lived his faith and practiced an unswerving commitment to justice and the law not only in his profession but in every aspect of his life. In the 1960s, he wrote and produced the award-winning television programs Getting Married and Civil Disobedience for the Oregon State Bar. In the mid-1970s, he and Ann became involved in what became a lifelong dedication to gay rights in the civil and religious arenas. In the 1980s, he served as lead attorney for the plaintiff in the landmark employee-rights case Benassi v. Georgia-Pacific.

Bill Shepherd was, in many ways, the quintessential American: He worked his way through college and law school and fought for his country; he was a dedicated father, respected attorney and community activist. And, like his client and friend Blanche Fischer, he was independent.