Harriet Gage Fairey

COLUMBIA Harriet Harrington Gage Fairey, the wife and constant companion for 71 years of Dr. Philip Washington Fairey, Jr, M.D., known to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as Mama, died on March 22, 2015. Harriet was born to Elise Wannamaker Gage (also known as Mama) and George Williams Gage, on November 4, 1921. She was raised in and around Chester, South Carolina as her father tried his hand at farming. Her early years on the farm with her two older brothers, George and Theodore, and her younger brother, Robert, were a wonderful time for her; providing her with many stories to tell her grandchildren. Her father eventually turned to selling fertilizer, an endeavor that worked out very well for him and his family, and Harriet ended up in Anderson, South Carolina. She attended Winthrop College from 1938 to 1942 and graduated with a degree in primary school education. She taught the second grade in Anderson and the first grade in North Charleston. She met Phil in the summer of 1942, on a weekend house party at Edisto Beach. They married in September of 1943 and their union would bring six children into the world. She would lose her second child, Elise Wannamaker Fairey, to an early childhood illness, but the other five thrived and provided her with more than enough adventures and excitement. She treasured children and was never happier than when holding an infant. To the very end of her life, she saved a special place in her heart for the innocence of the very young. She loved all the special times her family spent together, with many happy weeks spent at Murrells Inlet during the summers. Phil and the children would pull the large shrimp net through the “holes” in Whale’s Creek and Harriet would sit in the boat pulling the shrimp heads putting the catch on ice as soon as possible. Later she would purchase a lot on the point at Garden City (before there were any houses there) and build a house on the inlet side. She made sure it and a later house that replaced it were big enough that all the children and grandchildren could visit at the same time. Harriet sought out activities that involved her love of children. As a member of the Junior League of Columbia, she was involved in first learning and then performing with puppets for children at the Children’s Theatre – receiving some of her training for this endeavor from Jim Henson of the Muppets fame. She had a life-long love of flowers and, with Phil, they created, maintained and enjoyed a beautiful garden at their home of 60 years on Woodland Drive. Harriet was a member of the Driftwood Garden Club, attending and hosting meetings with her dear friends there into her 90s. In the 1960s Harriet discovered she had a true love for the game of golf. As a long-time member of the Forest Lake Club Women’s Golf Association, she was a dedicated Tuesday foursome player and she gloried in the game. She had a beautiful, long swing and when she connected the ball flew. Her hole-in-one on 18th hole in front of a crowd on tournament day was special. She had wonderful memories of her travels with her friends in the Association to play in tournaments around the state. Playing well into her 80’s, it was only when her ailing back prevented her from swinging that she was forced to give up the game. She continued to be an avid fan of the game, watching the PGA and the LPGA each weekend with Phil, hoping that her favorite golfer (who happened to have her husband’s name) would win. Never one to shy from a new thing, when she could no longer play golf, Harriet took up painting. She did a number of garden and bird scenes and Harriet and Phil’s 2012 Christmas card was one of her water colors. Harriet is survived by Phil, her husband of seventy-one years; five children, Philip Washington Fairey, III, and his wife, Patricia “Pat” Ann Fairey, of Merritt Island, Fla., and their children, Philip “Phil” Washington Fairey, IV, and his partner, Kenneth “Ken” Richard Ventell, of Columbia, Eleanor Walker Fairey Massey and her husband Robert “Rob” Massey, of Clemson, S.C., and Theresa “Terri” Michelle Amburgey of Merritt Island, Fla.; Dr. George Gage Fairey, M.D. and his wife, Karen Lago Fairey, of Port Jefferson, N.Y. and their children, Gage Cass Woodle and his wife, Jill Spanos Woodle of Brooklyn, N.Y., Alexandra Cass Fairey, of Lido Beach, N.Y. and Elena Lago Fairey, of Charlotte, N.C.; William Gaston Fairey and his wife, Elaine Chapman Fairey, of Columbia, S.C. and their children, James Muthig Fairey and his wife, Kristian Woodward Fairey, of Greenville, S.C., Elise Fairey Powell and her husband, Brian Winton Powell, of Louisville, Ky., William Gaston Fairey, Jr. of Columbia, and Charles Chapman Fairey and his wife, Caroline Clay Fairey, of Charlotte; Dr. John Ormond Fairey, M.D. and his wife, Marie Johnson Fairey, of Columbia and their children, John Ormond Fairey, Jr. and his wife, Manning Willard Fairey, of Atlanta, Ga., Harriet Fairey Gilmer and her husband, Robert Barrett Gilmer, of New York, N.Y., and William Johnson Fairey, and his wife, Eleanor Stanley Fairey, of Charlotte; and Isabel Fairey Sundlie and Elmer Dennis Sundlie, of Columbia and their children, Shane Megan Sundlie of Columbia and Nathan Alec Sundlie of Columbia. At the time of her death, Harriet had nineteen great-grandchildren aged 21 years to 4 months. Harriet lived her life in full and left a legacy of gentleness and love for her family. She will live on in each of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who had the wonderful experience of knowing and being loved by her. She was a gentle soul with a mischievous smile who tempered us all. The family wishes to express their gratefulness to the staffs at Still Hopes and Solutions at Still Hopes and especially to all the wonderful people in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Still Hopes who provided such kind and gentle care to Harriet in her last two years. Contributions in Harriet’s memory may be designated to the MUSC Foundation for the Fairey/Strait Medical Heritage Scholarship, 18 Bee St., MSC 450, Charleston, S.C. 29425. The family will receive visitors in the Still Hopes Mansion at Still Hopes from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2015. A private family ceremony will be held at West End Cemetery in St. Matthews, South Carolina at a later date. Dunbar Funeral Home, Northeast Chapel, is assisting the family.