FAIRMAN, Christopher M.
Christopher M. Fairman, the Associate Dean for Faculty and the C. William O' Neill Professor in Law and Judicial Administration at The Ohio State Moritz College of Law, died unexpectedly on July 22nd at the age of 54.
Christopher was born July 26, 1960 in Parsons, Kansas, but raised in Austin, Texas. He earned a B.A. in 1982 from the
University of Texas at Austin and in 1994 received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Christopher then clerked for Justice J. Woodfin Jones of the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District and for Judge Fortunato P. Benavides of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. After his clerkships, he worked for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Dallas as a practicing litigator for four years before joining the Ohio State law faculty in 2000. It was there that his passion for teaching thrived. He was promoted to full professor in 2007. He served as a faculty advisor to several student organizations including the ABA National Appellate Advocacy moot court team and became associate dean for faculty in 2013.
Before becoming a law professor, Christopher was a high school history teacher and was proud to enter law school with seven of his students. His unwavering dedication to teaching did not go unnoticed. He received many awards including the Morgan E. Shipman Teaching Award at the Moritz College of Law and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the University's highest teaching award honoring faculty members for superior teaching.
Christopher is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Mallory and Joe McKeel, stepfather and mother, David and Valentina Zacharias, former wife, Laura Fairman, and brothers, Carl, Michael, and Curtis Fairman. Christopher was more than just a professor. He was a loving father, son, and brother. He had an infectious smile and a sense of humor that permeated his personal and professional life. His dedication to and unconditional love for his family truly defined his character. As John Wooden once said, being a role model is the most powerful form of educating. He will sorely be missed, but never forgotten.
A visitation will be held at Weed-Corley-Fish at 3125 N. Lamar Blvd. on Saturday, August 1st from 2-4 pm. A memorial service will be held at Crestview United Methodist Church at 1300 Morrow St. on Sunday, August 2nd at 3pm. There will also be a memorial service in Columbus, Ohio at the Moritz College of Law date yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting contributions be made to the Moritz College of Law at
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/alumni/giving/ways-to-give/ and the American Foundation for Aids Research at
http://www.amfar.org/donate/.
A full obituary and guestbook is available at
www.wcfish.com.
