Remembering Fairbanks' life: Thousands learn more about woman of skill and humor
U.S. Forest Service Special Agent in Charge Tom Lyons presents the U.S. flag to Brian Fairbanks, third from left, husband of slain Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks, during a memorial service Monday at Port Angeles Civic Field. -- Photo by Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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This was a woman who shared her gifts — of skill and of irreverent humor.
With her devotion to her job, her police dog partner, Radar, and her sometimes high, squeaky voice, she made an impression on people wherever she worked, in communities across the West.
"She was like a pebble that sends out ripples," said Beverly Loudon of Esquimalt, British Columbia, one of many who arrived hours before Monday's service began at 1 p.m.
Loudon had met Fairbanks, she said, at a gathering of law enforcement officers on Vancouver Island.
Fairbanks, who was 51 and had devoted more than two decades to the forest service, was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 20 at the Dungeness Forks Campground in Olympic National Forest south of Sequim.
Authorities believe Shawn Matthew Roe, whose last known residence was Everett, shot both Fairbanks and Sequim-area retiree Richard Ziegler.
Roe was killed hours later by Clallam County Sheriff's deputies outside Blyn's Longhouse Market & Deli parking lot.
Monday's memorial service was an outpouring of love and sorrow for a woman who worked in forests from Alaska to Texas, and who was beloved on the North Olympic Peninsula.
She graduated from Sequim High School, worked as a seasonal ranger in Olympic National Park before joining the forest service, and made her home with her husband, Brian Fairbanks — a Fish and Wildlife officer — and 15-year-old daughter Whitney, on the banks of the Bogachiel River.
The ceremony was created by Fairbanks' family and her community — which stretches beyond the Peninsula.
During her career, Fairbanks patrolled national parks and national forests in several states including Oregon, where she met U.S. Forest Service special agent Anne Minden while on a "mushroom patrol."
Thelma and Louise
The pair became known as "Thelma and Louise," after the two tough, adventurous characters in the movie of the same name.
"She was the person who made me laugh more than anyone . . . we had more fun than anyone should be allowed to have," Minden said.
Among the treasures the women guarded were ancient cedars, irreplaceable trees that thieves cut to sell.
There was one special tree Fairbanks showed Minden one day.
"It was so large, it took my breath away," Minden said.
Then she saw that Fairbanks had placed her business card on four sides of the massive trunk, with a note that read "smile for the camera," followed by "an unrepeatable word for bad guys."
Whenever they caught such thieves, the women "would high-five each other," Minden said, "and literally laugh ourselves silly over the pure joy of the moment."
Kris was both a tough cop and "the girliest girl," Minden said.
She loved clothes, she sewed, she quilted and she was a collector and protector of stray animals.
"Her home was constant animal chaos," but she wouldn't want it any other way, Minden said.
"We honor Kris by carrying on her extraordinary passion for our natural resources," by being a loving parent and spouse, by being "a thoughtful stranger . . . a protector of all things innocent."
Proud of daughter
At Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Forks, the Rev. Al Harness knew Fairbanks as a mom who glowed with pride while talking about her daughter.
And in classes held at the church, Fairbanks taught the minister some things, including "a few new words for 'bad guys.'"
Fairbanks was fierce about her work, her family, her dogs and the outdoors — but she also had a mischievous streak.
"She was fun to be around," said Harness, who is retired from the church.
And when the church held a blessing of the animals — attracting some rambunctious pets from around Forks — "Kris, the alpha female, had everything under control.
"I know I'm a better person for having known her."
K-9 officers around the state spoke of the woman who taught them how to bring out the best in their police dogs — and in themselves.
Kevin Miller, a Port Angeles Police Department K-9 handler, remembered the time a 150-pound hog sent Fairbanks' dog running out of a building and between her legs, wrapping his leash around her body.
"I'll miss the phone calls where we shared war stories" of catching thieves, he added.
Then Miller began to weep.
"My life was better for having known Kris, and I thank both Brian and Whitney for sharing her with me."
________
Sequim Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: September 29. 2008 9:00PM