~ 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
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.
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
