Linda Mara Fairbanks

It is with great sadness that we said good bye for now to our beloved Mom, Mimi, and Great Mimi, Linda Mara Fairbanks, on July 22, 2025 in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Linda was born on April 8, 1945 in Gulfport, MS to Glen O. and Beatrice L. (Siler) Lloyd. She grew up in Holland, OH, married Roger L. Fairbanks in 1965 and raised three daughters, Theresa L. (Julian) Bargo, Cara L. (Michael) Hiller, and Brenda S. (John) Meganck in Toledo until moving to Pinellas Park, FL in the fall of 1980. She eventually moved back up north in 2006 to live near her daughters' families and grandchildren in Wisconsin until returning to Florida with Tracy and Julian in 2017.
It was the awesome Catholic classical education she received at Little Flower Elementary and McCauley Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio, that gave her the firm foundation in Our Faith, and a flat-out authority in her voice whenever sharing that Faith, correcting our behavior, or commenting on a current event. She taught the Gospel of Christ and His loving mercy to various grade levels at Holy Cross Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, FL and St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Watertown, WI. Her career began as a medical secretary at Mercy Hospital in Toledo, then progressed to credentialing interns as they finished their degrees in medicine in St. Petersburg, Florida, which she retired from in 2006. She enjoyed watching and being a part of all her grandchildren's lives as they grew up and then playing with her great grandchildren as much as her multiple health issues would allow her. Glory to God for giving us this loving, kind, and generous woman for a mom!
For as passive and kind of a person as she was, she was surprisingly strong! She suffered for two decades with uncontrollable pain, despite countless medical interventions and drugs, endured the last 13 years of her life in "rehab" with her daughter and son-in-law, nicknamed her right leg amputation in 2023 "Stumpy," survived six months on hospital food, learned how to scoot and transfer with those same arms that held all of us, all the while making new friends of the nurses, aides, doctors, and therapists. She kept her sense of humor through all of this and even in the end, while dying of incurable cancer in the comfort of her own bed and in the care of her loving family.
The most important things Mom taught us was Family First, Foremost, and preferably Funny and how good friends become family with a welcoming heart and hospitality. What a woman! And daughter of God!!! We love you, Mom!!!
Linda is survived by her three daughters and their husbands, grandchildren: Glenn (Cassandra) and Eric (Paige) Bargo; Karissa (Tim Fendt), Amber (Alex Della), Jade, and Hayden Hiller; Beatrice, Jane, Grace, Mara, and Casper Meganck; great grandchildren: Blakely and Charlotte Bargo, Oliver and Evelyn Fendt, and Sofia and Grayson Della; step-brother Daniel Fifer, sister-in-law Constance Bishop; niece Amanda (Tim Redker); niece Laurie (Brian O'Connor), and nephews Douglas and Daniel Lolley, niece Fawn Hazelton, and many other relatives and friends.
Linda is preceded in death by her parents, step-mother Florence R. Lloyd, Roger, infant brother Larry, granddaughter Julianne Lynn Bargo, step-brothers Wolfgang and Gregory Fifer, sister-in-law Judith Lolley, niece LouAnn (Lolley) Engel, and nephews Donald and Dennis Lolley; brother-in-law Daniel Bishop and niece Angela Bishop, and many other relatives and friends close to her heart.
We want to acknowledge with special thanks Mom's primary care doctor, Dr. Gotham, Gulf Coast ER and in-patient care, Dispatch Health, and the lovely ladies at Hope Hospice: Jane, Marie, Jessica, and Gina. After spending 80 years serving our Lord, whom she loved and obeyed the best she could throughout her life, she is finally on her journey to take her place at our Lord's banquet. We thank Our Lord for His Mercy, the strength He has given Mom throughout her life, the time we had with her, for all she taught us, and the opportunities to live, love and laugh together. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. Give Jesus, Julianne, Dad, and everyone hugs for us.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Shawn Roser at The Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord, Fort Myers, on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 11:30am. Interment will be at Royal Palm North Cemetery, St. Petersburg, on Tuesday, July 29 at 11am (plot Memory 352). In lieu of flowers, Masses said for the repose of Linda's soul would be greatly appreciated.