OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi alumnus Davis Love Fair, Jr. of Louisville, died on March 13, 2009, at the age of 95. Fair was a longtime supporter of the University and built an extraordinary legacy of service to Ole Miss.
“He was the best example of what it means to be a loyal and supportive Ole Miss alumnus,” said son Dave Fair. “He also dearly loved Oxford and the entire Oxford community.”
Fair attended Louisville Public Schools before graduating from Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport. A 1936 Ole Miss graduate, Fair was active in Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and was a member of ODK honorary. He was manager of the Ole Miss Basketball team and an M-Club member.
Fair was following in the footsteps of his father, Davis Love Fair, Sr. another loyal UM alumnus, who died in 1952. The elder Fair, a 1902 graduate, helped select the name “Rebels” for Ole Miss athletic teams, founded an organization to provide scholarships for needy students, served as national alumni president for two terms, organized the Ole Miss Loyalty Club, the forerunner of the UMAA Foundation, and served as its president.
Before their deaths, Fair Jr. established the Davis Love Fair Sr. Memorial Scholarship to assist university football players and to pay tribute to his father’s remarkable contributions to the university.
“The Fair family has played an integral role in the life of the University of Mississippi for many years and obviously has passed down a deep love for, and commitment to, Ole Miss through generations,” said UM athletics director Pete Boone. “Families like the Fairs continue to strengthen our university and enhance our athletics program—all for the benefit of our students.”
Fair Jr. first worked for DL Fair Lumber Company plants in Shuqualak, Bruce, and Grenada. He served as its vice president from 1948 to 1952. He served as president from 1952 until its purchase by Georgia Pacific in 1965.
Fair was voted Man of the Year and Tree Farmer of the Year for Louisville and Winston County in 1982.
In addition to holding leadership positions in several professional organizations, he served as an elder of First Presbyterian Church in Louisville, president of the Louisville Rotary Club, trustee and president of the Louisville School Board and on the board of trustees of French Camp Academy.
To make a gift to the Davis Love Fair Sr. Memorial Scholarship, visit www.umfoundation.com/makeagift.