Maurice Dean Fishburn

Maurice D. Fishburn passed away on October 15, 2026, at age 92 in Boulder City, NV. He was born to Elzene and Pete Fishburn in eastern Kansas, on July 25, 1934. The family moved to Red Oak, Iowa, in about 1940, where Maurice and his two sisters enjoyed that area for several years. Maurice worked at the local newspaper office after school and on weekends, for several years. He joined the U.S. Army in 1954 during the Korean Conflict, and was sent to Germany, where he spent 18 months.

After returning from overseas, he enrolled in the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, and spent the next 5 years working full time at the University Press, as he continued his studies. He received his master’s degree in Geology from the University of Kansas, marrying Janet Sue Watson in December 1957.

His first professional job was working for Standard Oil Company in Jackson, Mississippi, as a Petroleum Geologist. He worked for several years there, then was hired by the U.S. Government to work at Elk Hills, California, to look for oil. He and his family moved to Taft, California, however his work took him to sites in several states. He retired from that job in 1994, after spending a great deal of time on the North Slope of Alaska, as well as in Wyoming, California and other states.

After his retirement, he and Janet traveled to several countries in Europe, as well as visiting Australia and New Zealand. In 2015 they moved from California to Boulder City, where he enjoyed their new home overlooking Lake Meade which had a large workshop attached to the garage. That gave him space to create numerous oil paintings, as well as building model ships and yard decorations. Maurice and Janet are blessed to have had their late daughter, Sharon (Harder), two sons, Steven and Scott Fishburn; four grandchildren, Amy Harder (Reverman), Melanie Harder (Carter), Adam and Jordan Fishburn; as well as five great- grandchildren. 

Besides being an artist, he was also an author. He wrote the books “Trilobites to Northern Lights” and “Memories of a Petroleum Geologist”, which has been sold at the Oil Museum in Taft, California.

A Memorial Service for Maurice will be held at the Chapel in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, in Boulder City, NV on Nov. 19 at 2:00 p.m. A private family memorial service will be held in the Spring.