THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300385
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: ANNANDALE LENGTH: 64 lines
Sarah Lawrence Fairman, a devoted family person and internationally renowned master of ecclesiastical goldwork embroidery, was born Sarah Lawrence Cooper in Annapolis, Md., on July 14, 1901. Blessed with integrity of vision and a tremendous capacity for the joy of life, she was always steady, gentle, perceptive, and wise. Her early years were associated with the City of Annapolis, Md., the Navy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the American Episcopal Church. Patriotism was important to her. During World War I she enlisted and served in uniform for a brief period as a private in the U.S. Army.
Miss Cooper married Francis E. Fairman Jr., brilliant inventor of electric transformer systems and vice president of the General Electric Co. Living successively in Philadelphia, Pasadena, and Pittsfield, Mass., they were dedicated to educating their family at the price of great sacrifice even during the Great Depression. After her husband's death in 1957, Mrs. Fairman never remarried but carried forward their mutual vision, first on the Main Line in Philadelphia, then in Annandale, Va. Religion was important to her. As her religious service, she enjoyed ironing the choir robes for Wynnewood's All Saints Episcopal Church's young choristers and doing all the embroidery for the vestments and decorative draperies for her church.
Always adept at needlework, Mrs. Fairman became seriously interested in the art of embroidery in the '60s. She explored a variety of media with internationally known master craftspersons - crewell work, goldwork, weaving, and bobbin lace. She became a master herself without losing her sense of wonder and discovery in each creation. She never sought money or fame, but instead she tried to achieve the integrity of each work of art. She often undid and reworked what appeared to be a finished piece many times to get it just right, even after growing arthritis and failing eyesight made the easiest tasks difficult for her.
With Sheila Ashby, Sally Fairman pioneered the use of abstraction and mixed media in ecclesiastical embroidery, breaking new ground with materials and technique. Haloed in white hair, she produced work that was seen as young and vital. She was an inspiration to young artists. She is best known for her painstakingly detailed and pictorially stunning gold work. During the '70s and '80s she exhibited her work in group and one-person shows, including a major one-person exhibition at the Philadelphia College of Textiles, and she was published as an international leader in the embroidery field. Her works are now included in ecclesiastical, academic and family collections.
In her final years, Mrs. Fairman enjoyed keeping current. She read voraciously and followed professional tennis closely. To keep her mind sharp, she watched Jeopardy. Actively intelligent, bright in spirit, and tenaciously devoted to life right to the end, she was always a special friend to young people. She could laugh knowingly at the eccentricities of human beings and become profoundly absorbed in the subtle details and patterns of nature. For her, the world never grew old or stale but was fresh and new each day. In everything, she quietly communicated her faith in the young, in vision, in life and in the future.
Mrs. Fairman passed away quietly at home among loved ones in Annandale on Oct. 27, 1996. She is survived by her three children, Francis E. Fairman III of Pittsburgh, Pa., Philip B. Fairman of Miami, Fla., Sarah Lawrence Engel of Annandale; and by 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Survivors living in Hampton Roads are Dr. Wilson F. Engel III and his children of Newport News, Dr. Frank P. Engel and his children of York County and Mrs. Sarah L. Nold and her children of Chesapeake.
Arrangements are by Demaine Funeral Home, Annandale. Private services will occur on All Saints Sunday at St. James Episcopal Church, Monkston, Md. In lieu of offerings, flowers may be sent to All Saints Episcopal Church, Gypsy Lane and Montgomery Avenue, Wynnewood, Pa., 19096.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB