Theodore Harding Fairbanks

Theodore Harding Fairbanks, 88, of Valley Township, died at home on Friday, November 1st, 2013.  Ted, as he was known, was born in Waterville, Maine, and served in the Navy, stationed in China, during WW II.  He was a Ph.D. chemist, civil rights advocate in the 1950s, farmer, artist, trumpet player and avid computer user.  He studied Mandarin Chinese, enjoyed Chinese food, and liked to cook, especially omelets with wild mushrooms he had foraged.  He loved Maine and enjoyed chess, fly fishing, political philosophy, writing, and traveling the back roads of Chester and Lancaster counties with his wife. He is survived by Pat Fairbanks, his wife of 50 years, his sister Phyllis Hasson of Texas, his brother Bob Fairbanks of Maine, and his two sons, Phil and Tony Fairbanks, both of South Carolina.  Ted is also survived by his Knecht step-children: Tom, Peter, Charlie, and John, and by Suzy (Knecht) White, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He was a stoic New Englander with a dry sense of humor and a warm heart, and will be greatly missed.