Lincoln Fairchild

Lincoln Fairchild, whose résumé included flunking out of several respectable colleges, listening in on North African chatter for the U.S. Navy, and outliving a good number of his own bad habits, died August 7, 2025, at the age of 79.

Born in Greenwich, CT, and raised with varying degrees of supervision in Alexandria, VA, and Kittery Point, ME, Lincoln’s early educational record could best be described as “checkered.” After sampling (and swiftly rejecting) several institutions of higher learning, he found his calling in eavesdropping, courtesy of the U.S. Navy, which stationed him in Rota, Spain, to keep tabs on the goings-on in Northern Africa.

Discharged and newly determined, he startled skeptics by earning a B.S. from UMass Boston and, in a plot twist no one saw coming, a Ph.D. in Zoology from Duke University. He taught briefly at Ohio State, where tenure proved elusive, and then joined the National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Division in Washington, DC, safeguarding historic structures.

A charmer of the first order, Lincoln married three times—Muki, Margaret, and Joyce—and, in later years, found a devoted partner in Bonnie Knickerbocker. He smoked. He drank. He read voraciously. He toyed with boats. He loved his dogs. In retirement, he migrated to Monrovia, CA, Carefree, AZ, and back to the rocky coast of Kittery Point, ME, always with dogs in tow.

He leaves behind his daughter, Elizabeth Fairchild, and her husband, Glenn Walker of Rye, NH; his grandchildren, Benjamin and Samantha Walker; his partner, Bonnie Knickerbocker of Carefree, AZ; his sister, Margaret Arms of Colorado Springs, CO; one niece, four nephews, and many great-nieces and great-nephews; and his devoted dogs, Winston and Bailey. He was predeceased by his parents, Byron and Elizabeth Scott (Lincoln) Fairchild; his brother Byron Fairchild, Jr.; his sister Martha Shepler; and his third wife, Joyce Fairchild.

Raise a glass in his honor. He’d want you to know it’s five o’clock somewhere—probably in Rota.

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Hampton. To view Lincoln's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.