Fisel, Fernand, 1924-2010
Person
Dates
- Existence: July 21, 1924 to November 3, 2010
Biographical
Fernand Fisel, born July 21, 1924, was a Jewish French-born citizen, a Holocaust survivor, who came to the United States as a refugee after World War II. He became anaturalized citizen in 1956. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from Atlantic Union College in 1949 and his Master’s degree from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, the following year. He continued studying and researching throughout his entire lifetime, finally writing the manuscript for a book.
He taught French at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia prior to settling at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1964. There he taught French and became one of the founders of IUP’s Critical Language Program, often tutoring students in Hebrew, until his retirement in 1991. While at IUP and for years after his retirement, Fisel sang in the IUP Chorale, also during his tenure at the university, Fernand became an avid runner, a hobby he enjoyed for the next 20 plus years, continuing his fitness training right up until his passing. He was a sought-after translator of printed material who continued to do work for the translation center at IUP after retiring. He was awarded Professor Emeritus status subsequent to retirement from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He was a long-time member of and cantor for the Beth Israel Synagogue. Even after his retirement, he was extremely active in teaching classic Hebrew, training children for their bar and bat mitzvahs, and teaching biblical Hebrew to adult students on a pro bono basis.
As the years went by Fisel became disillusioned with the Seventh-day Adventist faith. It is not known if collecting documents which question the Church led to his disillusionment or if he was disillusioned so he collected critical documents. Fisel died on November 3, 2010.
He taught French at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia prior to settling at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1964. There he taught French and became one of the founders of IUP’s Critical Language Program, often tutoring students in Hebrew, until his retirement in 1991. While at IUP and for years after his retirement, Fisel sang in the IUP Chorale, also during his tenure at the university, Fernand became an avid runner, a hobby he enjoyed for the next 20 plus years, continuing his fitness training right up until his passing. He was a sought-after translator of printed material who continued to do work for the translation center at IUP after retiring. He was awarded Professor Emeritus status subsequent to retirement from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He was a long-time member of and cantor for the Beth Israel Synagogue. Even after his retirement, he was extremely active in teaching classic Hebrew, training children for their bar and bat mitzvahs, and teaching biblical Hebrew to adult students on a pro bono basis.
As the years went by Fisel became disillusioned with the Seventh-day Adventist faith. It is not known if collecting documents which question the Church led to his disillusionment or if he was disillusioned so he collected critical documents. Fisel died on November 3, 2010.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Fernand Fisel Papers
Collection
Identifier: Collection 309
Content Description
This collection is made up articles and documents that Fisel found interesting. The general focus of this collection is on the subjects of Adventist theology and beliefs with a bent towards those who disagree with the mainline denominational views.
Dates:
Majority of material found within 1845 - 2006
Fernand Fisel Papers
Accession
Identifier: Collection 309
Dates:
Majority of material found within 1845 - 2006