Patricia M. “Pat” Fairbanks

Patricia M. “Pat” Fairbanks, 97, of Coatesville, PA, died at home on Saturday, December 15, 2018, two weeks short of her 98th birthday. 

Born in Hartland, Michigan, she was the daughter of William J. Rynearson, M.D., and Ruth Murphy Rynearson. She and the late Theodore H. Fairbanks, Ph.D., a chemist, farmer and artist who preceded her in death, were married for 50 years. Patricia was first widowed in 1961, when her husband, John G. “Jack” Knecht and the father of her children, died unexpectedly. She and Mr. Knecht, an aeronautical engineer and journalist, had met while attending the University of Michigan, where Patricia was taking courses in becoming an educator for the deaf.

Patricia is survived by her five children: Suzanne Knecht White of Christiana, PA; Thomas Knecht (and wife Laurie) of East Fallowfield, PA; Peter Knecht (and wife Katie) of Coatesville, PA; Charles Knecht (and wife Kathryn) of Loma Linda, CA; and John Knecht (and companion Devin), who lives in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. She is also survived by her late husband Theodore’s sons, Philip and Anthony Fairbanks, of Beaufort, South Carolina. Patricia leaves behind 11 grandchildren (a grandson died in the early 1990s) and 13 great-grandchildren.

Patricia was fond of antiques, creating ornamental borders and gathering wildflowers, making frequent trips to the local library for a fresh supply of novels, and admiring the historic structures of Chester County, as well as the open rolling countryside, dirt roads and hedgerows that were in abundance in the 1950s, when she and Jack first made it their home. An aloof but kindly woman, she was known for (and prized) her subtle wit, which she claimed to have inherited from her Irish ancestors.

Services will be private. Arrangements entrusted to the Wilde Funeral Home, Parkesburg, PA.

Online condolences can be posted at www.wildefuneralhome.com