Terry Glen Fairbanks
1936
- 2006
The
Rev. Terry Glen Fairbanks, 69, retired American Baptist Minister and
1957-1958
West Virginia University Football Captain, departed this life Monday
afternoon,
January
16, 2006, after being stricken with a massive heart attach while driving
along
the
Dry Fork River at Hendricks, W.V. He was a former resident of
Tucker County
and
more recently a resident of Morgantown, WV.
He
was born Tuesday, December 15, 1936, at Parsons, WV, a son of
the
late Benjamin Warren Fairbanks and Pauline Delaney Mullenax Fairbanks
and
was raised by his grandmother, Myrtle Delaney Dye.
On
October 28, 1956, at Parsons, WV., he was married to the former
Judy
Dale Barr, who survives. They had celebrated 49 years of
marriage.
Also
surviving are five sons, Robert Fairbanks and wife, Barbara, of
Reedsville,
Danny
Fairbanks and wife, Laura, of Atlanta, GA.,
Michael
Fairbanks and wife, Elizabeth, of Morgantown,
Patrick
and Timothy Fairbanks, both of Morgantown;
one
daughter, Terra Hamrick and husband, Travis, of Canaan Valley,
15
grandchildren, Jason, Adam, Brandon, Briana, Bethany, Brady,
Christian,
Jackson, Benjamin, Lacey, Allyson, Tyler and Megan Fairbanks
and
Travis and Brandyn Hamrick; and one great-granddaughter, Natalie Belle;
one
brother, Lenny Delaney and wife, Jenny, of Morgantown;
mother-in-law,
Evelyn Barr, Parsons; and sister-in-law,
Madonna
DiBacco and husband, Jerome;
two
nephews; and a niece, all of Parsons.
In
addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one infant son,
Anthony
Scott Fairbanks; and one sister, Reba Williams.
He
was a graduate of Parsons High School with the Class of 1955,
where
he was Valedictorian, class president and earned All State Honors in
football,
basketball
and baseball. He earned a four-year scholarship from the former
Coach
Art Lewis at WVU. While playing football at WVU, Terry was
team
captain while wearing the number 45, Academic All-American,
played
offensive and defensive end and was awarded the
1958
Pittsburgh Curbstone Coaches-Most Valuable Player Award.
He
graduated from WVU in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil
Engineering
and
entered the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant, where he also played football for
the
82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., and served as an Artillery
officer
in
the Target Acquisition Battalion at Fort Sill, OK.
After
his military service, Terry worked as a watershed engineer with the
Soil
Conservation Service for 34 years. Among the many watershed
projects he
worked
with are those at Wheeling Creek, Hughes River,
South Branch
of
the Potomac, and the Mud River. He initiated planning for the
emergency
channel cleanup on the Scotts Run and led emergency
Soil
Conservation Service work after the 1985 flood. On the national
level,
he
helped establish training programs for dam safety. He also worked
for
Blaine Engineering to plan the flood control wall in Tucker County.
Terry
was ordained by the Sabraton Baptist Church and the
Goshen
Association in 1985, after completing education
course
work in pastoral ministry through the
West
Virginia American Baptist Convention. Terry preached in
many
churches throughout the state, including a 27 year ministry
at
Bethel Baptist and retired from the ministry
at
the First Baptist Church of Masontown.
Terry
was a Chaplin for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and
played
on many softball teams in the area. He also coached the
Sabraton
Junior High School Football Team and was
instrumental
in starting a Junior High Football program in Morgantown.
He
was an avid hunter, fisherman, and golfer,
and
all of his children starred in Morgantown sports.
The
family received friends at the Lohr & Barb Funeral Home of Parsons
from
3-5 and 7-9 P.M., Thursday, January 19, 2006. Services were held
at
Saint
John's United Methodist Church at Parsons on Friday, January 20.
Final
rites were conducted at 11 A.M., with the Rev. James Cooley and the
Rev.
David Spence officiating. Burial was at the
Bethel Cemetery at
Holly
Meadows, where the H. W. Daniel's Post 29 American Legion and the
Tygarts
Valley Post 3647 Veterans of Foreign Wars conducted full military rites.
Terry
and Judy, Senior Prom
Taken
at the Coach n Four