David Fairless was a local man, through and through.
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Born in Mooroopna on August 18, 1960, he was a familiar face in the area for 64 years.
In his youth he attended Shepparton East Primary School and then moved to Shepparton South Tech for the rest of his high-school education.
The Fairless family own orchards in the area so he was no stranger to hard work, beginning a fitter-and-turner apprenticeship after school at SPC.
“He worked there for 25 years and started as an apprentice and then went through to being a leading hand,” David’s son Jarrod said.
“They had obviously the family orchards, and they had the transport company, and he’d cut hay over night-time.
“He was always busy, always working.”
After corporate giant Coca-Cola bought SPC in 2005, David was one of the staff let go, leading him to a career change.
“He went to contract work, and he was building abattoirs up in Darwin, he was there for six months or so and then come back and bought Solar Seafoods,” Jarrod said.
“He just rang me up and said ‘oh, I bought the fish shop’.”
David and his wife, Jenny, owned the business for about 10 years, selling it in May 2024.
David had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, so running a shop was no longer an option.
“He was still pretty positive through it all, right through to the last couple of weeks once it sort of really took over,” Jarrod said.
“He knew it was terminal right from the start. My dad did everything he could — all the chemo and radiations and surgeries — but like I said, you wouldn’t have even known.”
Jarrod said that while running the shop, David was always a generous shopkeeper, especially during the festive period.
“At Christmas-time, people that weren’t as well off, he’d give them extra, and people that he knew that they wouldn’t have been able to afford that sort of stuff, he’d give them prawns and things,” Jarrod said.
Outside his career, David was an avid motorbike lover.
“He had a collection of Harleys and old vintage motorbikes,” Jarrod said.
Being the local he was, he knew the lay of the land. Jarrod said he could give David a general idea of where he was heading, and he would “randomly rock up”.
David liked motorbikes, but there was something else he was even more likely to have been seen with.
“He was known to wear thongs even in the snow,” Jarrod said.
Those around him could always count on David being there.
“If there was ever a mechanical issue ... everyone would always come to him because we knew that he’d figure out a way to fix it,” Jarrod said.
“Even though it wasn’t always textbook, he just made it happen.
“He made sure everyone got home safe.”
Jarrod remembered his dad for his problem-solving mind, at all times of day.
“He was always very good for figuring things out,” Jarrod said.
“When we used to live with them ... you’d hear him at 2am or 3am out in the shed and go out and say ‘what are you doing?’ and he’s like, ‘oh, I just thought of something and I thought if I don’t do it now, I’ll forget about it by the morning’.
“He’d just be out making something or fixing something and would do anything for anyone.”
David’s generosity didn’t end at prawns and mechanics — he was also a decorated blood donor.
“He did a lot of blood donations, he was always right into that,” Jarrod said.
“I can’t remember exactly how many donations, but I know he has got certificates and awards because he was like a pretty long way up.”
He was also on the original committee to build the Harmony Village aged care facility and was dedicated to giving back.
“He did Relay for Life stuff and Make-a-Wish stuff when they used to do the wish train from here to Seymour,” Jarrod said.
Although he dedicated most of his time to the community, he was able to travel the world to talk fruit and fruit growing.
“He went to Europe as a fruit grower delegate for a big fruit grower trip thing over there, went to Paris and Greece and Italy for a couple of months to get into doing orchard stuff,” Jarrod said.
“That was a big thing that he spoke about.”
His early days were full of fun and risk, Jarrod said.
“He used to jump the cars and stuff over the channels and probably should have died apparently,” he said.
“He used to be into cycling and ... he actually broke his neck; he fell off and broke his neck at Deakin Velodrome when he was younger.”
Not only was David’s life full of friends and family, but furry friends, too.
“He used to be in the pony club and had horses, one of them was never tied up and would stay in the paddock and watch the TV through the windows of the house,” Jarrod said.
“He had a red heeler dog named Sheila, and he’d go everywhere with him, he’d ride around on the motorbike, on the fuel tanks everywhere with him.”
David will be remembered for his kind heart and generous actions, being one to put the ones he loved ahead of his own needs.
“He’d always sort of put himself last,” Jarrod said.
“If anyone needed help he’d just do anything he could to help people.
“He was hard working, but he’d still make time for family and make time for everyone.
“I don’t know how we used to do it, to be honest, he just fit so much in and still go away on his motorbike trips with his mates.”
He was one of the six children of the late Don and Margaret Fairless and is now reunited with his second son, Mitchell, who passed of cystic fibrosis at a young age.
David leaves behind his five siblings, Robert, Chris, Steve, Mary-Ann and Catherine, his son Jarrod, and his wife, Jenny.
A funeral will be held for David on Thursday, January 9 from 11am.
Don Fairless was one of the founding members of the Shepparton East Football Club, which is where David’s funeral will be held.
For those wishing to see the service, but who are unable to attend, it will be live-streamed at merrittfuneralservices.com.au/livestream
Cadet Journalist