DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS 2008

Mrs. Anna Margaret Graff Fairchild

Mrs. Anna Margaret Graff Fairchild

Mrs. Anna Margaret Graff Fairchild graduated from Perryville High School in 1941. She grew up with four brothers and three sisters on the family farm near Lithium, Mo.

Mrs. Fairchild graduated with honors with a nursing degree from Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis in 1945. Following graduation, she was a nursing supervisor and instructor in obstetrics and gynecology at Methodist Hospital in Gary, Indiana. It was there that she became engaged to marry her future husband who was attending medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Mrs. Fairchild married Dr. James F. Fairchild on Dec. 25, 1951, at the First Baptist Church in Perryville. She and Dr. Fairchild had five children: James (Joy Hoeh), Margaret (Rick Gebhardt), Scott (Lori Martens), Peter (Sandra Polk) and Andrew (Denyse Porter). They also had nine grandchildren.

They moved to Perryville in 1954 after completing post-graduate training at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis.

Mrs. Fairchild was a member of the Perryville School Board for 21 years, and served as board president for several years. She was very active as a Girl Scout and Cub Scout Leader and served several summers as camp nurse at Camp Cherokee Ridge in Southeast Missouri. As a Girl Scout Leader, she organized the cleanup and trail construction at Legion Lake Park in the 1960s; Legion Lake Park stands as an historical legacy of the National YCC program of the 1930s.

She and her fellow Girl Scouts initiated some of the first newspaper recycling efforts in Perryville to raise funds for scouting. Mrs. Fairchild was presented with numerous service awards from the Southeast Missouri Otahki Girl Scout Council.

She later shifted her energies from raising a family to working in eldercare as a nurse at Perry County Nursing Home. Her hobbies included gardening, tennis, bird-watching, cooking and family.

Mrs. Fairchild passed away on Oct. 28, 1992. That year, her classmates, friends and family established the Anna Margaret Fairchild Memorial Scholarship Fund at Perryville High School to support students pursuing higher education in health-related fields. To date, 16 students have been presented this scholarship and continue to honor her memory by working in the health-care field.

Dr. James F. Fairchild

Dr. James F. Fairchild

Dr. James F. Fairchild graduated as valedictorian of Perryville High School in 1945. He was born on April 25, 1927 in Nashville, Ark., to James and Rubye Nowell Fairchild. He had one brother and one sister.

Following his graduation from Perryville High School, Dr. Fairchild served in the U.S. Naval Reserves until 1947. In 1951 he received his bachelor of arts/pre-med degree from the University of Missouri (Columbia). He obtained his M.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1952 and completed his internship/residency in 1953 at Missouri Baptist Hospital St. Louis.

Dr. Fairchild married Anna Margaret (Graff) Fairchild on Dec. 25, 1951, at the First Baptist Church in Perryville. Dr. and Mrs. Fairchild had five children: James (Joy Hoeh), Margaret (Rick Gebhardt), Scott (Lori Martens), Peter (Sandra Polk) and Andrew (Denyse Porter). They also had nine grandchildren.

Dr. Fairchild began his medical practice in 1953 in Perryville. During his medical career he delivered more than 2,000 babies and participated in numerous hospital expansions and local health care advancements. He was a lifetime member of the Missouri Board of Family Practice and served as its President from 1988-89. He mentored numerous medical students as preceptors at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He retired from medical practice in Perryville after 44 years of medical practice. He was a family doctor, and provided many Perry County residents with house calls during his practice.

After retirement, Dr. Fairchild served many years on the Perry County Board of Mental Health. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and the Lions Club, as well as an honorary member of the Order of the Arrow in Boy Scouts. His hobbies included fishing, gardening and family. A talented writer, he penned many tributes to family and friends. Also a political pundit, he offered frequent unsolicited advice to those camped on the “wrong” side of the political and social fence.

Dr. Fairchild made a difference in the lives of those he touched. He passed away at age 78 on July 19, 2005. That year, his classmates, friends and family established the Dr. J.F. Fairchild Memorial Scholarship at Perryville High School in his memory. This scholarship is presented annually to a deserving student seeking a career in a health-care profession.