IN MEMORY

David Fish
Scarboro lay missionary
1929-2000

By Fr. Jim McGuire, S.F.M.
April 2000

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David Fish, with his wife Elena Abubo, were Scarboro lay missionaries serving in Nairobi, Kenya, until August, 1999. They were deeply involved in ministering to people suffering from HIV-AIDS. This dreaded disease has now reached pandemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa; 23.3 million people are infected according to the latest United Nations estimate. Many children are born with the virus and will certainly die before or in their teens unless treated in the first year of their life.

David and Elena were present in East Africa, seeking ways to bring some relief to people caught up in this terrible human disaster. David, with his vast academic experience in Canada, was doing research at the University of Nairobi, and helping develop educational programs to stem the rapid spread of the disease. Elena with her nursing skills was caring for the victims in the slums of Nairobi and in several hostels for HIV-infected orphans. On the weekends both would assist Jesuit Father “Dag” D’Agostino at his Nyumbani orphanage, providing compassionate care for some 50 needy children.

On August 6, 1999, David and Elena returned to Canada for medical treatment. David was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy. Elena was experiencing difficulty with her speech. Doctors informed her that she had a progressively deteriorating disorder. Both conditions had been aggravated by their living situation in tropical Africa. David died on February 3, 2000, after several difficult months; Elena is still struggling at home in Vancouver with her progressive illness.

David, originally from Southsea, England, lived a life of service. For many years he was a professor, teaching and directing students with their doctoral theses; Angus Reid is one of his better known proteges. It was during one of his special lectures at the University of Manitoba that David met Elena, a Winnipeg nurse for 25 years who had come to hear him speak. Their marriage, and his accompanying her in her Catholic faith, radically changed the direction of their lives. They became Scarboro lay missionaries and were assigned to Africa. Here they experienced another conversion—an even deeper compassion for our brothers and sisters dying of AIDS.

Their time in Nairobi was limited, but the effect of their Christian witness upon others was profound. They have shown by their lives that service to our brothers and sisters is our liberating vocation as followers of Christ.

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