Helen F. Fairs, 91
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Helen Francis Fairs, 91, of 73 Kemp Ave. died Monday, March 7, 2011, at Melbourne Assisted Living in Pittsfield.
Born in North Adams on July 7, 1919, to Robert and Emma Perras Francis, she moved to Adams with her family during her teen years and graduated from the former Adams High School in 1937.
Mrs. Fairs last worked in the payroll department of the former North Adams State College for 18 years, retiring in 1980. She first was employed in the business office of Arnold Print Works' Jones Division from 1937 to 1941. When her husband, George A. Fairs, enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1941, she worked at airfield posts in Columbus, Ga., Biloxi, Miss., and in the Mohave Desert in California. She was transferred to Washington, D.C., to work for the Navy until 1946 while her husband was stationed overseas.
When she and her husband returned to North Adams, she became a full-time homemaker for her family of four.
She was very active in her children's activities, including the former Houghton School Parents Group as well as the Boy and Girl Scouts. She and her husband were also members of the Hairpin Turners Square Dancers. She enjoyed knitting and was a serious reader. She took great pleasure in the North Adams Public Library.
Besides her husband, former chairman of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, whom she married March 9, 1940, she leaves a son, William Fairs and his wife, Karen, of Lanesborough; a daughter, Laurie Babcock and her husband, David, of North Adams; five grandchildren, Kerry Fairs of Sydney, Australia, James Fairs and his wife, Joanna, of Greenfield Center, N.Y., Robin Briggs of Rochester, Minn., and Erika Webber and her husband, Danny, and Megan Babcock, all of North Adams; a stepgranddaughter, Jessica Atcheson of Boston; four great-grandchildren, Logan Fairs, Hailey Webber and Jaidyn Webber, all of North Adams, and Avery Fairs of Greenfield Center, and many nieces, nephews and dear friends, including Amy Hogan.
Mrs. Fairs was predeceased by three brothers, Robert, William and Harold Francis, and a sister, Phyllis Kernahan.
FUNERAL NOTICE - There will be no calling hours and funeral services will be private for Mrs. Fairs. Donations in her memory may be made to Shriners Children's Hospital, 133 Longhill St., Springfield, MA 01108 and to the Berkshire Humane Society, Barker Road, Pittsfield, MA 01201 or through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams, MA 01247.