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Sunday, April 7, 2019

USAF veteran, PAA/DL Capt. Jeffery Fairbrother

~ IN MEMORY ~
USAF veteran, PAA/DL Capt. Jeffery Fairbrother
March 29, 1940 ~ March 22, 2019
 
Word has reached our group with the passing of retired Pan Am/Delta pilot Captain Jeffery Alan Fairbrother, nearing his 79th birthday at the time of his passing.  Captain Fairbrother joined Pan American 01-03-1966 and retired with Delta Air Lines.  He was preceded in death by his first wife Kathleen ‘Kathy’ in April of 2002.  Remarried in 2009, Captain Fairbrother is survived by his wife Beth, his children and grandchildren, plus many other close family members and friends. 
To view/sign the online guestbook please visit the funeral home website at
Obituary may also be viewed online at https://www.hcnews.com/obituaries/jeffery-fairbrother
Services:  Visitation at the home of Ruth Adele Waggoner in Comanche TX, April 11th 4-7 PM
        Celebration of Life at Barking Rocks Winery in Granbury TX , April 12th 4-7 PM
        Graveside service at Holly Hills Memorial Park in Granbury TX, April 13th at 2 PM
Obituary and all information appears below. 
For those wishing to send a personal note, whitepages lists the Fairbrother residence as
504 N Elm St., Comanche TX 76442-2243.
For further information, you may contact Beth at bfairbro@gmail.com
            Thank you,
                ~ Carol for the PCN 
 
Obituary...............Jeffery A. Fairbrother passed away under home hospice care in Comanche, Texas on March 22, 2019.  He was peaceful and comfortable and did not struggle.

Jeff was born on March 29, 1940 to Myrl Godspeed Fairbrother, Sr. and Nellie Druscilla Johnson Fairbrother in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He was preceded in death by both parents, his wife Kathleen Diane Davis Fairbrother of 39 years, his brother Myrl Fairbrother and spouse, and his sister Phyllis Fairbrother Lucchesi and spouse.  Kathy passed away in 2002.  He is survived by his wife Beth Waggoner Fairbrother, daughter Cynthia Fairbrother Fitch and husband Clinton (Vail, Colorado), and daughter Christine Fairbrother Gilbert and husband Bill (Granbury, Texas), brother Larry Fairbrother and wife (Orlando, Florida), grandchildren Clinton Robert Fitch IV, Catherine Vinita Fitch, Kasey Diane Fairbrother, and Ty Taylor Gilbert, and great grandchild Braydon Cooper Fitch.  Jeff married Beth Waggoner Fairbrother in 2009 in Comanche, Texas.  He has wonderful nieces in Grand Rapids.  Survivors include each of them and their spouses, their 17 children, and their 39 grandchildren as well.  Jeffery embraced Beth’s mother, Ruth Adele Moore Waggoner, Beth’s 3 children and their spouses, and Beth’s 6 grandchildren.
 
He went to the a recruiting office for the Air Force to accompany a friend, took the test and was accepted into the Aviation Cadet Program.  This was an unique program and no longer exists – however, at the time it was designed to allow high school graduates to be placed directly into the pilot training program.  It was discontinued in 1961 and requirements were changed.  He was assigned to 61-D at sent to Lackland AFB.  After completing pilot training, he was assigned to USAF Basic Training in Lubbock, Texas.  Upon graduation, he was a new 2nd Lieutenant and pilot and he was sent to Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, OK for intensive training in the C-124 (Globemaster).  Prior to going to Vietnam he was involved in missions to support DOD in special circumstances all over the world, support troop movements for the Army (including the Cuban missile crisis), deployed to the UN for Congo Airlift support, flew several CIA missions, a mission for NASA, and a NUMA mission involving Jacques Coustou.   In 1963, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam based in Saigon and flew several hundred combat missions.
 
Jeffery met and married Kathy Davis in Dover, Delaware in 1964.  He left the Air Force in 1966 to take a job as a Captain with Pan American Airlines based in San Francisco, California.  He experienced the hey-day of the Pan-Am experience and enjoyed travel and trips all over the world.  He was able to travel to many destinations with Kathy and his daughters.  This inspired a love of travel in each of them.  He transitioned to Delta Airlines when Pan Am was purchased in the 1980’s.  He flew many notable individuals, musicians, singers, and actors, including the Beatles, the Philadelphia Eagles, Liza Minelli, Larry Hagman, Paul Hogan, and others.  At that point in time, the passengers were able to come into the cockpit and meet and visit with the Captain.
 
Travel and community service were important to him.  Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and Comanche Community Rehab (both restoring houses), Pecan Plantation Volunteer Fire Department, Lions Club, Civil Air Patrol Granbury Squadron 441, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Rio Brazos Texas Master Naturalist Group, and the Comanche County Historical Museum.
 
Services will include a Visitation at the home of Ruth Adele Waggoner in Comanche on April 11th 4-7 pm, a ‘Celebration of Life’ at Barking Rocks Winery in Granbury on April 12th 4-7 pm, and a graveside service at Holly Hills Memorial Park in Granbury on April 13th at 2 pm.  For more information, contact Beth Fairbrother at 325-330-9014.
 
In lieu of flowers, please consider the Comanche County Historical Museum Remodeling budget (Jeff was always remodeling) Comanche First Baptist Church, Granbury Civil Air Patrol Squadron 441, or Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge.
----------------------
Kathleen D. Fairbrother
Date of Birth: Sunday  July  12, 1942
Date of Death: Sunday  April  28, 2002
Age at Death: 59 years, 9 months, 16 days
 
Kathleen D Fairbrother, 59, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, died Sunday, April 28, 2002, in Fort Worth after a brief battle with cancer.  Kathleen Fairbrother was born July 12, 1942, in Seattle, Wash. She married Jeffery Fairbrother on April 9, 1963, in Arlington, Va. She was a homemaker and business owner and a former Granbury resident for 20 years.

Survivors: Husband, Jeffery Fairbrother of Godley; daughters, Cynthia Fitch and husband, Clinton, of Allen and Christine Gilbert and husband, Bill, of Godley; sisters, Judith Blazevich and Kim Rodgers, both of Plano; and grandchildren, Robert Fitch, Catherine Fitch, Kasey Fairbrother, Dondrae Gilbert, Holden Gilbert and Ty Gilbert. Wiley Funeral Home Granbury, (817) 573-3000

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