James Fairley
June 15, 1929 — December 27, 2018
Before joining the U.S. Air Force, James summered in Asbury Park, New Jersey as a teen where he would earn money as a dishwasher and busboy to bring back to his parents in North Carolina. Enlisting the G.I. Bill, James earned a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and was employed by the Northside Independent School District first as a teacher at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School then guidance counselor and principal at Anson Jones Middle School in San Antonio.
Mr. Fairley was among the European Allied Forces that occupied Germany and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force after 22 years. He settled in San Antonio, Texas outside of Lackland Air Force Base with his second wife Mauricette Nicole Briquet, 83, whom he met while stationed in Paris, France after World War 2. He is survived by Mauricette, two sisters Sallie Mae Whitehead and Darlene Fairley, his biological daughter Juliette Fairley and adopted daughter Dorothy Fairley Merzouk.
James was 90 years old when he died on the afternoon of Dec. 27, 2018. His remains are buried at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. James also served the United States of America in the Vietnam and Korean wars.
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 15, 1929 to Willie Mae Blue and Henry Fairley, James toured the world as a saxophonist and Emcee in the Armed Forces performance ensemble called the Tops in Blue show.
As a child growing up on Old Plank Road in North Carolina, James was nicknamed Jimbo. He is predeceased by his first wife Anna Joella Cole and siblings George Henry Fairley, William C. Fairley, Vannie L. Fairley, Henry Fairley Jr., his mother Willie Mae [Blue] Fairley and father John Henry Fairley. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in the name of James Fairley to the Blind Veterans Association or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
