Donald R Fairbairn

Donald R. Fairbairn passed away on September 28, 2025. He was 92 years old.

Mr. Fairbairn was born February 21, 1933, in Norwalk, CT. Raised in Granville, MA, and West Hartford, CT, he graduated from the Kingswood (now Kingswood-Oxford) School and the University of Michigan. Following his military service, where he learned Russian at the Army Language School in Monterey, CA, and was stationed in Germany near the Czech border, he started his career at the Aetna Accident and Liability Company in Hartford, CT. His facility with languages led him to a career in computer systems design and analysis, where he and his teams developed innovative secure electronic messaging systems. He finished his career as Quality Director at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Don loved backyard cookouts, family beach vacations, especially to St. George Island, FL, climbing mountains with his kids and attending their sports activities. During his long and active retirement, he enjoyed travel, hikes with friends and family, and volunteer service for 20 years with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Service where he led community tax preparation offices in Clifton and Passaic, NJ.

Don was married to Phyllis Louise Talbot Fairbairn for 57 years before her passing in October 2016. He leaves behind his daughter Linda Coppee (David), sons Henry (Shirley), John (Karen), Scott, and Paul (Gabrielle), eleven nieces and nephews, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Following a Funeral Service at 2:00 pm on October 7 at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, www.vpfh.com, 257 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ, the family will receive friends and family. Military honors will be performed at 4:30 pm. He will be buried next to Phyllis in the Talbot family plot in LaFayette, AL.

In his memory, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Wyckoff Volunteer Ambulance Corps

New York-New Jersey Trail Conference