Little brown spots are not fireblight. Can't see anything in your pictures that looks like blight or any other problem.

I doubt you have fireblight.

I worried once whether I may have introduced fireblight into some trees I pruned in Utah and called up the Extension agent in Wenatchee, Washington named Tim Smith. He was and is one of the foremost fireblight experts.....he patiently explained to me that the odds were slim that I had caused it after I explained what I had done .....(I believe Tim is still there answering questions if you really need a consult....although it is better to rec people in your own state.)

Weather is one of the bigger factors when it comes to fireblight....something of which you have no control....but could only maybe think about a preventative spray in the Spring.

To be on the safe side, take a leaf sample in to your local nursery or local State Extension agent and let them tell you what they think you have....I don't see fireblight.

By the way, pear trees live longer than almost any other tree...they are exceptionally hardy and 200 year old pear trees have been known to have been badly whacked and still come out of it....bearing fruit galore.

You probably have no worries, but the only way to be sure is to take a sample to someone who actually can identify the problem.
Let us know what works out or doesn't work out.

Milehighgirl:

I know you are emotionally invested in this particular pear tree, but if I had a tree that looked like that it would have come down a long time ago. It is not reasonable to try to "restore" a tree like that.

Then I would plant a healthy young pear tree in memory of grandpa. Given the level of your attachment to the tree, I don't really expect you to follow this advice now, but eventually you will when all else fails.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Well, I did take a branch and made a graft on rootstock last year. It hasn't opened any of the buds even yet, but the graft is soft and bendable. I keep hoping it will get going.

I know the old tree will have to come down eventually, but I'd really like some pears from it, especially with how long it takes a pear tree to bear.

I'll do as suggested and try the state extension agency.

The scion came from the NCGR in Corvallis, OR.

Thank you for your advice.

Oh Jellyman, how could you. A death panelist for grandmother pear trees! Milehigh don't listen to the grumpy man, your precious pear is still a treasure. I really have to get around to photographing some of the ancient fruit trees I manage that are loaded with wonderful fruit every season. Mostly apples, but there are a few great old pears in the mix and my customers get a lot of pleasure out of them.

Well, you're right in a way, Harvestman. I don't wish anyone "happy growing" or tell them to "have fun". But anyone who has actually stopped by Jellyman Farms, and there have been quite a few, would tell you that grumpy is not the right word.

You are also probably right that I am a lot different than most of your suburban NYC clients, and thank God for that. If they enjoy looking at old, ugly trees, bless their hearts. I don't insist on landscape beauty in fruit trees, but like to have them look as good as they can. It's pretty easy to plant a new tree, or to graft an older tree to a vigorous new rootstock.

When I see a big, ugly, half-dead tree I think: chainsaw. If Milehighgirl cuts her tree down to half size, she will have a smaller, ugly, half-dead tree. Grandpa will not mind, in fact he might be pleased to see a new tree planted. I should know since I am a grandpa myself, many times over. It's the cycle of life. Old things die; new things grow up.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Don, OK, got your point, but I hope you know I was just joking, I thought it was pretty funny myself and I certainly was not seriously analyzing your personality type. Jeese!

I have made many an old ugly tree beautiful with patience and care. Milehigh has already made it clear that this tree is a sentimental favorite and she enjoys its presence and has taken on the effort to give it another generation of productivity. I applaud her effort.

By the way, I think generalizations about suburban New Yorkers are as unenlightened a generalizations about Virginia hill dwellers- and none of the trees I manage are ugly for long.

H-Man:

My apologies for the regional generalization. And I know you are just joking. So am I.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Good, I was afraid you were offended. By the way, many of my suburban NY customers spend in exess of a million dollars annually to keep their landscapes in a manner they find beautiful, which I think is rediculous but I'm happy for some of that work and for their loyalty to very old (and beautiful) trees.