Willis L Fairbanks (USMC, Ret), My Dad
09-27-2011, 06:47 AM
#51
Thread Starter
I had thought we would have 20 min total for speakers at the burial, but found out there it was only 7. So my bro spoke, as I posted above. Here is one other eulogy, which was not delivered, but will be posted on the Tysons Corner Rotary website. It was from a close Rotarian friend of Dad's. I really like this one, too.
"The long journey that began on a ranch in Montana nearly a century ago comes to an end here on this September afternoon, at this hallowed shrine to our nation’s heroes that we know as Arlington National Cemetery. How fitting indeed that this will be the final resting place of Willis Fairbanks, one of the Greats of the Greatest Generation, a Marine Corps Colonel, a veteran of World War II – and a true American hero.
Today we bring to this tranquil place a man who served 26 years in the United States Marine Corps, who spent time in the Pacific, who served at NATO headquarters in Europe – a man who traveled the world in the service of his country. If this were all that Will had done in his life (as if this weren’t enough) we would have much to celebrate, and to be proud of, as we recall his life here today.
And yet Will’s military career, as important as it was in shaping his life and defining him as an American hero, was only one part, one dimension of an incredibly rich and multi-faceted life.
In fact, Will would tell you (as he told me) that there were three forces that had a major impact on his life. The first was that ranch in Montana where Will spent his youth under the watchful eyes of his parents. (Although I think he managed to slip away for a few escapades along the way.) The second was the Marine Corps. And the third was Rotary, where Will had an opportunity to serve the communities of McLean and Tysons Corner through his leadership of those Rotary clubs and his fine example of Service Above Self.
Those three forces – his parents’ Montana ranch, the Marine Corps, and Rotary – shaped the way that Will conducted himself in the world, but they also sparked the intellectual curiosity and energized the thinking process that formed his core. In recent years I had a rare opportunity to see this side of Will, even though he had been my friend since 1983 when he founded the Rotary Club of Tysons Corner.
I was privileged that Will allowed me into his intellectual world. It was a world filled with ideas, with possibilities, with more questions than answers. It was a world that I entered in Will’s living room as we sat across from each other, or sometimes in his downstairs office during one of our Thursday visits, and it extended as far as Will’s formidable intellect would take us.
What set Will apart from so many people is that he had a great capacity for abstract thinking. He didn’t see things as either black or white – he could see every shade of gray in between. This capacity for the abstract made it possible for us to have some great discussions about the “big picture” of life, in the biggest sense.
For example, we’ve all heard of the “Big Bang theory” as an explanation for the beginning of the Universe. But Will wondered what came before the Big Bang. He knew intuitively that all of the elements required for that primordial explosion of energy had to be in place before it happened. Time and space had to exist already. So how did time begin? He speculated that a creator existed before the Universe – but, as he told me in his gentle, scholarly way, “who created the creator is beyond comprehension.” That’s where Will’s intellect took us – to the very edges of human comprehension.
Will was also a student of earthly affairs and public policy, and wrote extensively on more than a dozen topics. “I know where to get knowledge, whom to listen to, and the degree of credibility to give them,” he told me. And Will was a firm believer that introspection and reflection were the twin filters through which knowledge becomes distilled into wisdom.
Will shared his wisdom with me in so many ways. He was wise to the ways of human foibles and failings, and wise enough to know that it was up to humans to solve the problems they created. He would let me read his beautiful poetry (how many Marines write poetry?). And he shared with me his enthusiasm for a new literary genre he was creating, which he called “centerline prose” – a cross between prose and poetry that would express ideas in both the meaning of words and the geometric patterns one could form with those words.
And amid this incredible wisdom was great sensitivity. I remember once, as we were discussing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Will’s eyes filled with tears as he thought about so many of America’s fine young people being killed in those far-off lands, and he struggled to find some meaning in those deaths.
Throughout his “twilight years,” as Will often referred to recent times, his intellectual curiosity never dimmed – in fact, I sensed a growing urgency to it. He devoured the Charlie Rose show, he loved to research topics on the Internet, and he eagerly sought out different points of view. “I learn more from people who don’t agree with me than from people who do agree with me,” he would say.
This was the Will Fairbanks I came to know and love. All of us here today have our own connections to Will (or Bill, as his beloved wife, Nell, was privileged to call him), and these connections have allowed us to know him and to love him in our own respective ways.
I feel deeply honored that Will thought enough of me to embrace me as his friend and his intellectual traveling companion – though I was really just along for the ride. But what a ride it was, and what a truly remarkable person Will Fairbanks was. I treasure my times with him, and I will carry with me forever the memory of my dear friend Will."
"The long journey that began on a ranch in Montana nearly a century ago comes to an end here on this September afternoon, at this hallowed shrine to our nation’s heroes that we know as Arlington National Cemetery. How fitting indeed that this will be the final resting place of Willis Fairbanks, one of the Greats of the Greatest Generation, a Marine Corps Colonel, a veteran of World War II – and a true American hero.
Today we bring to this tranquil place a man who served 26 years in the United States Marine Corps, who spent time in the Pacific, who served at NATO headquarters in Europe – a man who traveled the world in the service of his country. If this were all that Will had done in his life (as if this weren’t enough) we would have much to celebrate, and to be proud of, as we recall his life here today.
And yet Will’s military career, as important as it was in shaping his life and defining him as an American hero, was only one part, one dimension of an incredibly rich and multi-faceted life.
In fact, Will would tell you (as he told me) that there were three forces that had a major impact on his life. The first was that ranch in Montana where Will spent his youth under the watchful eyes of his parents. (Although I think he managed to slip away for a few escapades along the way.) The second was the Marine Corps. And the third was Rotary, where Will had an opportunity to serve the communities of McLean and Tysons Corner through his leadership of those Rotary clubs and his fine example of Service Above Self.
Those three forces – his parents’ Montana ranch, the Marine Corps, and Rotary – shaped the way that Will conducted himself in the world, but they also sparked the intellectual curiosity and energized the thinking process that formed his core. In recent years I had a rare opportunity to see this side of Will, even though he had been my friend since 1983 when he founded the Rotary Club of Tysons Corner.
I was privileged that Will allowed me into his intellectual world. It was a world filled with ideas, with possibilities, with more questions than answers. It was a world that I entered in Will’s living room as we sat across from each other, or sometimes in his downstairs office during one of our Thursday visits, and it extended as far as Will’s formidable intellect would take us.
What set Will apart from so many people is that he had a great capacity for abstract thinking. He didn’t see things as either black or white – he could see every shade of gray in between. This capacity for the abstract made it possible for us to have some great discussions about the “big picture” of life, in the biggest sense.
For example, we’ve all heard of the “Big Bang theory” as an explanation for the beginning of the Universe. But Will wondered what came before the Big Bang. He knew intuitively that all of the elements required for that primordial explosion of energy had to be in place before it happened. Time and space had to exist already. So how did time begin? He speculated that a creator existed before the Universe – but, as he told me in his gentle, scholarly way, “who created the creator is beyond comprehension.” That’s where Will’s intellect took us – to the very edges of human comprehension.
Will was also a student of earthly affairs and public policy, and wrote extensively on more than a dozen topics. “I know where to get knowledge, whom to listen to, and the degree of credibility to give them,” he told me. And Will was a firm believer that introspection and reflection were the twin filters through which knowledge becomes distilled into wisdom.
Will shared his wisdom with me in so many ways. He was wise to the ways of human foibles and failings, and wise enough to know that it was up to humans to solve the problems they created. He would let me read his beautiful poetry (how many Marines write poetry?). And he shared with me his enthusiasm for a new literary genre he was creating, which he called “centerline prose” – a cross between prose and poetry that would express ideas in both the meaning of words and the geometric patterns one could form with those words.
And amid this incredible wisdom was great sensitivity. I remember once, as we were discussing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Will’s eyes filled with tears as he thought about so many of America’s fine young people being killed in those far-off lands, and he struggled to find some meaning in those deaths.
Throughout his “twilight years,” as Will often referred to recent times, his intellectual curiosity never dimmed – in fact, I sensed a growing urgency to it. He devoured the Charlie Rose show, he loved to research topics on the Internet, and he eagerly sought out different points of view. “I learn more from people who don’t agree with me than from people who do agree with me,” he would say.
This was the Will Fairbanks I came to know and love. All of us here today have our own connections to Will (or Bill, as his beloved wife, Nell, was privileged to call him), and these connections have allowed us to know him and to love him in our own respective ways.
I feel deeply honored that Will thought enough of me to embrace me as his friend and his intellectual traveling companion – though I was really just along for the ride. But what a ride it was, and what a truly remarkable person Will Fairbanks was. I treasure my times with him, and I will carry with me forever the memory of my dear friend Will."
10-03-2011, 04:47 AM
#53
Thread Starter
A few pics from the burial. As you can see, it was a very rainy day. But it didn't put a damper on our spirits. The dirt strip to the left is actually where my Dad is buried. They are filling in along that row. I expect it will have sod soon if not already. Headstone in two to three months. The velvet covers the clock urn that contains the ashes. There is a Marine Corps emblem on the back of it and a pocket where notes were put. My mother put a note that the +1's daughter wrote to my dad in there. His daughter cried when he told her. She really loved my dad - they had horses in common and she loved talking to him. She took his death hard.
The Marine Colonel presenting the flag to my mom.
My mom, bro, sis and moi.
The Marine Colonel presenting the flag to my mom.
My mom, bro, sis and moi.
10-03-2011, 05:07 AM
#54
Deb, these are lovely photographs that really demonstrate the dignity and honor your father was given. In the photo with your family you really look very beautiful. (Love the hair!!) 
10-03-2011, 05:16 AM
#55
Thread Starter
Awww...thanks. 
10-03-2011, 05:21 AM
#56
Nice pics, Deb.
The marine presenting the flag to your Mom looks very compassionate.
Great pic.
The marine presenting the flag to your Mom looks very compassionate.
Great pic.
10-03-2011, 05:27 AM
#57
Thread Starter
The tall Marine at back left in the first pic called me and my mom early on to offer the condolences of the Marine Corps. And he and the Colonel spoke to the gathering at the Admin Bldg before we proceeded to the burial site. The Colonel also spoke to me and my siblings after he spoke to my mother. Very, very nice.
10-03-2011, 06:04 AM
#59
Thread Starter
Semper Fi.
10-03-2011, 01:52 PM
#60
thanks for sharing; your dad sounds very special