JULY 31, 1935 – JAN. 23, 2025

 William Miller Fairchild died Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico, Missouri.
 Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Mexico United Methodist Church with the Rev. Naftal Naftal officiating. Burial will follow in Littleby Cemetery, northeast of Mexico.
 Visitation is 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Arnold Funeral Home.
 William was born July 31, 1935, in Mexico, Missouri, the son of Guy and Ruth Fairchild. He graduated from Mexico High School in 1953 and attended the University of Missouri for one year before volunteering for the U.S. Army in September 1954. After training in Chaffee, Ark., he served with the Fifth Armored Division in Hawaii. Officially a Korean War veteran, he was stationed at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii, where he worked as a mechanic on equipment returning from the war.
 Once home, he joined the family farming operation, and on April 10, 1963, he married Barbara Ann Birket of Nampa, Idaho. Together, they raised three children, sons Andrew and Steven and daughter, Callen.
 William farmed in partnership with his brother Howard until Howard’s death in 1985. William continued the operation with his nephew Kenny, and later with his son Andrew, until retiring in 2014. Through the years, the diversified farm concentrated on row crops, hogs and cattle.
 William, known as Bill to most, will be remembered for his genial nature and warm smile. He was an active member of his community, serving on the school board for Community R-VI, the Consolidated Electric and Associated Electric board, the United Methodist Church in various roles and in many other agricultural and civic engagements.
 Bill loved to dance. And people noticed. He and Barbara were well known around the community as the couple who whirled and swirled around the dance floor. Their children grew accustomed to comments from friends as well as near strangers along the lines of, “Man, your mom and dad can really cut a rug.” The couple’s love of dancing was just one way their love for each other shined.
 In the years leading up to his retirement, Barbara convinced Bill to step away more often from farming to travel. Together they embarked on an ambitious schedule with stops that stretched from China to Ireland and many places in between. He especially enjoyed traveling with his children and grandchildren and seeing relatives in other parts of the country.
 Bill often said he couldn’t imagine working anywhere other than on the farm, and he was careful to pass along the lessons he learned there to his children. The realities of his daily work were revealed to them in truisms such as, “You need to make hay while the sun shines” and other lessons about responsibility, perseverance and luck.
 When adversity arose, he offered the stoic guidance that one must do what one can to steer worldly outcomes and accept what one cannot control with humility and gracethe essential lesson of a lifetime of farming.
 Ultimately, Bill’s proudest crop was his family. From the lessons he learned from his father and uncle’s farming operation to a youth spent with his siblings, he drew fulfillment from being around the ones he loved. That was especially the case for a lifetime spent with his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. To know Bill was to know the warm affection and reverence for those who came before him and those he leaves behind.
 Bill is survived by his three children, Andrew (Faye) of Benton City, Missouri, Callen Zind (Tom) of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Steven (Jennifer) of Mexico, Missouri; his brother, Fred, of Jackson, Mich.; seven grandchildren, Adam (Julia)Fairchild, Aaron Fairchild, Anthony Fairchild, Helena Fairchild, Anna Fairchild, Guy Fairchild and Ian Zind; great-grandsons Kasen Fairchild and Konner Fairchild; sister-in-law Judy Titus of McCall, Idaho, and seven nieces and nephews.
 He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Barbara, and siblings Howard Fairchild, Frances Fairchild and Margery Boling.
 Memorial donations may be made to Mexico United Methodist Church, 122 E. Promenade Street, Mexico, MO 65265.
 Online condolences may be left at www.arnoldfh.com