Elsie Pearl Fishburn

Elsie Pearl Fishburn, 92, of Wooster, passed away Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at her home with her family by her side. Elsie was born June 11, 1934 in Clay County, West Virginia to Charlie Dawson and Goldie {Beckett} Dawson. 

She married Terry D. Fishburn when she was 20 years old. Together they had six wonderful children. 

Elsie was a homemaker and mother of six children. Over the years, she worked as a head cook for the Gruter Foundation, Weitzel’s Dry Cleaning in Wooster and A&W Rootbeer. Her family especially remembered that she would bring home Rootbeer by the gallon from A&W.

Elsie loved her family and her church wholeheartedly. She loved cooking big meals for her family and enjoyed playing cards with her sisters, tending to her beautiful flower beds, and going to yard sales with her best friend, Thelma Miller. She also loved watching game shows on television, buying presents for her great-grandchildren, canning tomato juice and beans, crocheting dish rags, and bird watching. Additionally, she was well known for her generosity and always donating to good causes. 

She was a woman with a wonderful sense of humor who was always smiling and never complained about anything or anybody. When asked how she was doing, she would always answer, “I’m good,” even when she wasn’t. She set a strong example of what a thankful, God-fearing person should be to her family and everyone around her. Her family will remember that she had the biggest heart of anyone they had ever known.

Elsie will be deeply missed by her three children Richard Fishburn, Mary (George) Burge, and Rod (Sommer) Fishburn; nine grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and her siblings Lloyd and Diane Dawson, Dennis and Jeanette Dawson, George and Barb Dawson, Cecil and Carol Dawson, Betty Dawson Summers, Bonnie and Jerry Kurzen, and Barb and John Miller. 

She was preceded in death by her parents Charlie and Goldie Dawson; three children Dennis, Elsie, and Mark; brothers Liman Dawson, Dick Dawson, Bill Dawson, Toad Dawson, and Richard Dawson; sister Linda Dawson Justice; and her good friend Elsie Ross “Twin”.

Friends may call Monday September 14 from 2 to 3 p.m. at Roberts Funeral Home-Sherwood Chapel, Wooster. Funeral services will follow at 3 p.m. at the funeral home (and livestreamed at www.RobertsFuneralHome.com/obituaries/Elsie-Fishburn) with Pastor Ben Robinson officiating. Burial will be at Sherwood Memorial Gardens. Online tributes may be made at www.RobertsFuneralHome.com. The family would like to thank Ohio’s LifeCare Hospice for their loving care of Elsie. Memorial contributions may be made to Ohio’s LifeCare Hospice 1900 Akron Rd. Wooster, OH 44691 or St. Jude at www.StJude.org.