Longtime Booz, Allen & Hamilton consultant Gerald P. Fisher, 57, had such a winning way about him that colleagues refused to give up on him until his death at the Pentagon was confirmed.

"He was a real optimist," said Joyce Doria, a Booz, Allen senior vice president who supervised Fisher and two other employees who died. The three had gone to the Pentagon to brief Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel and another victim of the attack, on an improved system for survivor benefits for military employees.

Fisher, known to friends and co-workers by his childhood nickname, "Geep," worked on many projects during his 14 years as a manpower specialist and principal with the firm, Doria said. "He would always find a way to work through the problems," she added.

His circle of friends was so large that as many as 80 people turned out for his annual pre-Thanksgiving potluck dinners, said Christine Fisher, his wife of 17 years. Gerald Fisher started the event for single friends when he was newly divorced from his first wife, Bonnie Fisher, with whom he had a son, Jonathan Michael Fisher, 29, and a daughter, Serena Leigh Dugan, 28.

Fisher was born in New York City, grew up in Los Angeles and lived in Potomac. He was a graduate of San Francisco State College, and he received degrees from California State University in social welfare and the University of Pennsylvania in city planning. He received a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in social welfare.

His 30-year career in government, academia and private industry included six years as an associate professor at the universities of Texas and Wisconsin.

Friends said Fisher's recent conversations had turned to his son's wedding next week. The ceremony has been postponed, and a Sunday service was being planned to celebrate his life.

-- Sandra Fleishman

Source: The Washington Post, AP and washingtonpost.com

The profiles in this feature were written in the months following Sept. 11, 2001.