Lawrence "Larry" Fairchild

Rev. Dr. Lawrence “Larry” W. Fairchild of Center Ossipee died peacefully at his home on Sunday, November 21, 2010. He was 89 years old. Larry’s wife of 62 years, Peggy, died in 2006.

Rev. Fairchild was born in Danbury, CT on May 20, 1921. He had one brother, Robert (d. 1998) He lived and worked on the family farm in Newtown, CT through high school, and throughout his life referred fondly to his farm experience and the value of a farm life. Rev. Fairchild earned degrees from Tufts University School of Religion, which he entered in 1938 – the year of the Great Hurricane, and Harvard Divinity School. Rev. Fairchild was ordained into the Congregational Church in 1945. Defiance College awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 1969.

After his graduation and ordination in the Congregational Church (now the United Church of Christ) Rev. Fairchild was called to pastor: Congregational Church, North Chelmsford, MA: First Church in Malden, Congregational, Malden, MA; First Congregational Church, Manchester, VT, where he also hosted a Sunday afternoon radio broadcast; Woodridge Congregational Church, Cranston, RI, where he oversaw the planning and construction of the congregation’s first sanctuary building; Plymouth Congregational Church, Fort Wayne, IN; and First Federated Church, Peoria, IL. He was Associate Conference Minister for the Northern District of California from 1958-1961. Rev. Fairchild was known as an excellent and powerful preacher and widely respected for his sensitive and insightful administrative skills.

Rev. Fairchild moved to Center Ossipee in 1986 when he “retired” from full time ministry. He subsequently served as an interim pastor for churches in Lawrence, KS; Framingham, MA; Barrington, RI: and Wolfeboro, NH. Rev. Fairchild also served New Hampshire churches in Center Harbor, Conway, and North Conway. He was a frequent preacher around the NH Lakes Region for many years.

Rev. Fairchild was an avid reader, and was especially fond of Robert Frost, with whom he shared the stage at a Vermont high school commencement. Larry was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, his favorite baseball team. He became a fan of the New England Patriots after he retired to New Hampshire. Rev. Fairchild developed an interest in gardening after he retired. He became a master gardener during retirement, and established and nurtured an English country garden at his home. He was an excellent cribbage player who often dominated a game by “pegging out”, seemingly controlling the cards through the sheer force of his will. Rev. Fairchild corresponded faithfully, by hand, with friends across the country.

Rev. Fairchild is survived by Roo, his faithful companion orange tabby cat; his son David Fairchild and his wife Janice of Wakefield, NH; daughter Carol Fairchild of Ossipee, NH; daughter Linda Fairchild of Effingham, NH; and granddaughter Emily Fairchild of Sarasota, FL.

The family expresses gratitude for the tender care provided Larry by his at-home caregivers: Carol Fairchild, Robin Kent, Dawn Garza, Patty Morse, and Christine Fraser.

Preferred memorials may be made to Ossipee Concerned Citizens, Inc. [3 Dore Street, PO Box 426, Center Ossipee, NH 03814], Heifer International, or charity of the donor’s choice.
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Unable are the loved to die
For Love is Immortality.
Nay, it is Deity -

Unable they that love to die
For Love reforms Vitality
Into Divinity.

Emily Dickinson