GARY DEAN FAIR

1962 - 2013

Gary Dean Fair, age 50, of Bay View Washington, peacefully passed away on July 27, 2013 at Skagit Valley Hospital, surrounded by his family and the love and prayers of his many friends.

Gary was born on December 7, 1962 in Augsburg, Germany to Charles Thomas Fair and Mary LeDent Fair. Upon Tom's discharge from the Army in 1963, the family moved back to Burlington, where Gary attended Edison Elementary, and where he met many of his life-long friends.

Gary attended Burlington-Edison High School, graduating in 1981. He was an all-around athelete, and participated on the football, basketball, baseball and wrestling teams, as well as riding his dirt bike in motocross events. He played drums and guitar, and as a teenager played in his parents band, The Fair Pair. His outgoing and gregarious personality secured him many more life-long friends during high school.

After graduation, Gary attended Spokane Falls on a baseball scholarship, but due to an injury to his pitching arm, he decided to attend a heavy equipment operating school in Portland, Oregon. Upon graduation, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska where he worked for Eerkes Construction as a truck driver and backhoe operator. He thoroughly enjoyed working on what he called "Big Tonka Toys", and he often boasted that if you taped a toothpick to the backhoe bucket, he could pick your teeth with it!

After returning to Burlington in 1987, Gary met and married Kim Fortin, and together they had two daughters. Gary began working for Concrete Nor'West in 1987, and worked for them until 2002, when he started his own business, Clean Air Duct Service. His business motto was "Want Clean Air? Call Mr. Fair!".

Gary loved life, and he made everything he did an adventure. He loved being the center of attention and making people laugh. At camping or a barbecue, he would pull out his guitar and sing his self-penned number one hit, "Don't Argue With Your Woman, Just Bicker" (well, you know the words...!). He once bowled a 300 game in bowling league. He remembered every joke he ever heard, and delivered a punch-line like a master comedian. He rode a bull in the Winthrop Rodeo (so it was a baby bull, but he rode it!). And who can forget the infamous July 3rd Big Lake Boat Event? Not so funny, but he was the center of attention, once again! There are a million and one "Gary Fair" stories. One of his friends summed it up when he said "Gary lived half a life, but it sure was full".

Gary enjoyed having people around him, and making those people happy. The legendary Duck You-Know-What Christmas parties, the Superbowl parties with people packed earmuff to earmuff in front of his big-screen TV, dressing up at Halloween (remember his Dorothy costume, complete with size 13 ruby slippers!), and of course, his annual BBQ he called "BayViewStock". He loved that huge homemade barbecue almost as much as his big-screen!

Gary loved the outdoors, and everything you can do in them. Hunting, fishing, crabbing, clam digging, boating, camping, golf, softball, hiking, snow and water skiing, sky and scuba diving, or just sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee in the morning, watching the sun come up, and trying to shoot moles.

Gary wasn't a complex man, he was a simple kind of man. He was an original, a "what you see is what you get" type of man. You always knew where you stood with him. He didn't squelch his words with you, he spoke his mind, but he would never talk about you behind your back. He was a genuine and kind man, he didn't have a mean bone in his body, and he just wanted to enjoy life and make people happy. When he was asked how he would want people to remember him, he said "probably that I would share my last dollar with them if they needed it". He was a generous man.

Gary is survived by his two daughters, Demi and Devon, whom he adored and was so proud of, and their mother Kim; his mother Mary Fair; his father and step-mother Tom and Judy Fair; his brother Troy and Kira Fair, and their children Kyndel-Lynn and Bryce; his brother Rob and Faith Fair, and their children Blake and Shane; his grandmother Mavis Fair; many aunts and uncles, which include Terry and Shirley Fair, Foster and Marlene Fair, Al Fair, Ted Fair and T Fair O'Harrow; many beloved cousins, neices and nephews; his special friend Kay Quall and her children; his little dog Cooper, who will make his new home in California with nephew Shane (lucky dog!); and all of his friends, whom he cherished.

Thank you to the staff in the Critical Care Unit at Skagit Valley Hospital for their efforts, their care and compassion. To Aunt Marlene, words cannot express our gratitude to you for all that you did; you are an angel. Loren and Kevin, you were islands in our storm, thank you for being there.

The family invites you to a Celebration of Life potluck that will be held in Gary's honor on Sunday, August 11, 2013 at the Burlington Eagles Club, located at 119 N. Cherry St, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please come and share your stories and see old friends.

Rememberances in Gary's name can be sent to Pacific Ferret Shelter Network, 16884 Mountain View Rd., Mount Vernon WA 98274

Good bye Gary, you left your family and friends too soon. We weren't ready for you to go. The world will never be the same for us, there will always be a void in our hearts without you here. You are missed, and always will be. But I know that you're now with Willy, Roscoe and Tank, and you're out on the ocean with Grandpa Charles, bringing in that Big One. And as you once said to me; Hey, always know there's someone out here who loves you.