George Lewis Fairman died on May 30, 2021 at the age of 97, in Bloomington, MN. A long-time resident of Oak Park, IL and of Bloomington, MN, he was predeceased by his wife, Phyllis D. Fairman and survived by children Susan, Sally Mills, and James (Kimberly), 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, his sister Nancy and brother Tom. 

Born in St Johns, MI on January 22, 1924 to Ben C Fairman, Sr. and Madge Lewis, he was the second of nine children. The family moved frequently, following his father’s jobs as a school principal, then superintendent. Growing up before vaccines were invented, he survived measles, whooping cough, mumps and scarlet fever. One sister died of a ruptured appendix at 11, and another sister survived polio as a baby. 

Mesmerized by music, George played baritone in the high school band and sang his first solo at church as a junior in high school. Senior year he was in an apprenticeship program and learned to run a dairy, a job that was classified as critical, so he was given an agricultural exemption from the draft at the start of World War II. 

In January 1943, George enlisted and enrolled in a college program offered by the Navy. While at Illinois Institute of Technology, he met his future wife, Phyllis, who was attending George Williams College in Chicago, when they were co-chairs of a committee. At IIT he loved math, science and English and finished his junior year after 16 months in college. He joined the Navy Aviation Cadet Program and continued his studies. 

As the war was ending, George transferred out and worked on a troop transport ship in the Ships Stores. He sailed from Seattle to San Francisco, Truk, Guam, Pelelieu, Pearl Harbor and San Diego. When he was discharged in June 1946, he called Phyllis and they were married 3 months later on August 31^st.

George finished his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1948 and Phyllis obtained her Masters in Social Work from Wayne State University in Detroit. They moved to the Chicago area and started their family, living many years in Oak Park, IL. One of George’s major projects was their house on Grove Ave. An old house, he installed a steel beam to lift the center of the house that was sagging, replaced the windows, plumbing and heating, built a new kitchen and created a mother-in-law suite for Phyllis’ mother. During their time in Oak Park, they joined Third Unitarian Church of Chicago and became lifelong Unitarian Universalists, joining churches wherever they lived.

He had a long career as a Mechanical Engineer working for architectural engineering firms in the Chicago area, and later in Summit, NJ, Phoenix AZ, Redding, PA, and the Twin Cities. He designed a variety of building projects from hospitals to convention centers, and even a duck pond. 

His love of music lasted his whole life and encouraged his children as they sang and played piano, oboe, French Horn and trombone. His love of science, shared in particular through National Geographic’s ‘Things of Science’ kits, inspired his children to major in Biology, Physics and Chemistry. 

One of his favorite projects was the design and construction of the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (MVUUF) church building. Even into his 90s, he made sure the building systems were operating correctly, filters and fire systems were maintained, temperatures were comfortable for services, and even that the piano was kept at the correct humidity level. Active in church life, he flipped pancakes at special breakfast events, sang in the choir, acted in plays, worked on committees, and played Friday night poker. 

When they were in their 70s, George and Phyllis moved to Friendship Village in Bloomington. Active in the community there, George served as president of the Resident Council twice and served on multiple committees including the Facilities committee and the Recycling committee. He and Phyllis campaigned for years to end the use of Styrofoam containers. After Phyllis died in August 2010, George continued his advocacy and support for their social justice causes. He also worked tirelessly and changed the MN DOT design for the intersection of I494 and Highway 169 next to Friendship Village, not content to allow decreased transportation access to their senior residential facility.

Throughout his life, George helped other people with patience and kindness, always finding something to celebrate. He tended to forget the bad and remember the good. Puns were his specialty and he was a jokester to the end. He leaves a legacy in both the joy and fun he brought to people, and in the physical building for the community at MVUUF. Just as in his favorite song, “What a Wonderful World.” Oh yeah!