Maj. William Avery Fairfax, Jr. (US Airforce, Ret.)

Bill was born January 14, 1947 in Warsaw, NC to Mildred Benton Fairfax and William Avery Fairfax. Bill’s family moved from Warsaw to Raleigh, NC where he grew up and graduated from Broughton High School in 1965. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the United States Air Force in 1969 after completing the ROTC program and graduating with a degree B.A. in Political Science.

Bill took great pride in twenty years of service in the USAF, serving as a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) in the USAF’s cutting-edge F-111A, a low-level, all-weather, tactical fighter bomber. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Bill’s Air Force career took he and family across the world with assignments in Thailand, England, South Korea, and across the United States. He met his wife, Susan Carlton Bradford while she was visiting her brother at Nellis AFB in 1971 and they married in June 1973.

Bill and Susan returned to Raleigh in 1989 following Bill’s retirement from the Air Force, where he began his second career as an Assistant Clerk of Superior Court in Wake County. Bill was an active volunteer in the community with the Boy Scouts of America, and the recovery community at Healing Transitions where Bill and Susan were referred to as “Team Fairfax”. Bill and Susan were long time members of White Memorial Presbyterian Church, where Bill was a member of the Christian Fellowship Class, a Stephen Minister, ACT member, member of Men’s Breakfast Group, and co-president of Keenagers.

Along with volunteer service, Bill had a variety of hobbies and was committed to lifelong learning. He studied Spanish for fun and had recently taken up banjo lessons (he could often be found upstairs in the study picking on his banjo). He loved to grill (though Susan would say he always overdid the meat) and was a champion of North Carolina barbecue (Eastern style, of course!) and would happily pick up a pint or two from Wilbur’s in Goldsboro to make sure his sons and brother-in-law were never without.

Bill is survived by his wife of fifty years, Susan Bradford Fairfax; two sons, Edward Fairfax, and Robert Fairfax (Heather Fairfax), and grandchildren Robert and Audrey.

A service of Witness to the Resurrection for Bill will be held Tuesday, November 28th, 2023 at 2:00 PM at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Rd., Raleigh, NC 27608.The family will receive friends following the service in the Jane Bell Gathering Space.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to White Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Service provided by Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh.