Dr. Robert Henry Fain Jr.

1948-2016

Robert Henry Fain, Jr., MD, died on Tuesday, the 15th of March 2016, in Houston, Texas. He was born on the 26th of October 1948, in Nashville, Tennessee to Nona Mae Snow Fain and Robert Henry Fain, MD. The oldest of eight children, Dr. Fain grew up in Houston, Texas and was a graduate of Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine. His postgraduate training included a General Surgical Internship with Baylor College of Medicine Affiliated Hospital System and an Orthopedic Surgery Residency in the Division of Orthopedic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He subsequently completed a Fellowship in Sports Medicine focusing on the Surgery and Disorders of the Knee. He was most recently affiliated with the Memorial Hermann Medical Center Hospital, and for many years practiced at The Methodist Hospital and Texas Orthopedic Hospital with his father, Dr. Robert Fain, Sr., who served as his beloved mentor and guide. Together they were the Team Physicians for Humble High School and the Houston Oilers.

While a devoted and hardworking physician, Dr. Fain's interests beyond medicine were many. He was an accomplished SCUBA diver and underwater photographer, and traveled extensively in response to his intense curiosity about the world. His knowledge of wine was encyclopedic (and the finest vineyards in the world will also mourn his passing). He practiced his Spanish unabashedly, and with children and later grandchildren in tow, he never missed a Mardi Gras in New Orleans. He enjoyed snow-skiing and snowboarding; and in his teenage years, water-skied "barefoot" with friends on the San Bernard River, a weekend activity he continued into adulthood amidst the solace of a patch of undeveloped land with a boathouse.

To his family and friends (who include half the waiters and sommeliers in Houston), Dr. Fain was "Robbie" - a nickname well-suited to his easygoing and optimistic nature. To his cherished grandchildren, he was "Papa Robbie." To all, he was a uniquely generous man both in spirit and actions -- and as a person so free of malice and full of good will -- he will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his daughter Victoria Snow Fain Aikman and her husband, Rob, of Los Angeles, CA, and their children, Rex, Harrison, Marie Louise and Adelaide; and son, Tyler Spence Fain of Austin, Texas. He is survived by five sisters including Mary Johnson of Brookline, MA; Jenny Oates, Nona Fain, and Barbie Davis, all of Houston, TX; and Amy Roseman of Chapel Hill, NC; and two brothers, Dr. Douglas Fain of Stilwell, KS and John Fain, II, of Houston, Texas.

Friends and family are cordially invited to a visitation from five o'clock in the afternoon until seven o'clock in the evening on Monday, the 21st of March 2016, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A private interment service will be held at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.

A celebration in honor of Dr. Fain's life will be held on Tuesday, the 22nd of March 2016, from three o'clock until five o'clock in the afternoon at a private venue to be announced and shared by family members during the visitation Monday evening.

Honored to serve as honorary pallbearers will be Andrew Adams, Grant Braly, Walker Cain, Pete Daigle, Ian Marsac, and Allan Spence.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in honor of Dr. Fain may be directed to the charity of one’s choice.