Gracemary Branon Fairbanks

Gracemary Branon Fairbanks, 74, died on November 14, 2020 with her two children at her side. She told them she was sad to leave, but she was not scared. Gracemary was born on October 16, 1946 in Rutland, VT to Mary Mulcahy and William Branon. She was the eldest daughter among her parents’ eight children. The family moved to Plattsburgh, NY in 1952 where they were members of Saint John’s Church. Gracemary graduated from Saint John’s Academy in 1964 and went on to graduate from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY with a degree in English. After college, Gracemary became a social worker in New York City. She left New York in her 30s and settled in New Hampshire to start a family and begin a new career as a technical writer at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), a leader in the emerging computer industry. Gracemary subsequently held roles at Compaq following its acquisition of DEC and finally at Hewlett Packard upon its merger with Compaq. Gracemary had one son, Brendan, and one daughter, Ashleigh. She was a loving and hard-charging mother and instilled her tireless work ethic in her children. In recent years, Gracemary moved to Chelmsford, MA to be with her daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Her grandchildren started calling her “Gigi,” which was quickly widely adopted among her family and friends. Gracemary is survived by her two children, Brendan Fairbanks and Ashleigh (Justin) Whitehouse; two grandchildren, Branon and Finleigh; two brothers, William (Stephanie) Branon and Terrance (Michele) Branon; two sisters Roseanne (Corky) Corrado and Kathleen (Keith) Stark; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Gracemary was predeceased by her parents, William Barry Branon and Mary Mulcahy Branon; and three brothers, Martin Mulcahy Branon, Kevin Barry Branon, and Michael Francis Branon. Calling hours will be held on Thursday November 19, 2020 from 3-6pm and on Friday November 20, 2020 from 9:00 to 10:30am at the Brown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am at St. John’s Church in Plattsburgh, burial will follow in Mount Carmel Cemetery. Gracemary loved New York City’s Central Park and in her honor, her family and friends will be dedicating a Central Park bench to her through the Central Park Conservancy’s Adopt-A-Bench program. Should you wish to remember her in this way, you may send a donation at https://everloved.com/life-of/gracemary-fairbanks/. Arrangements are entrusted to Brown Funeral Home. 29 Broad Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y. 12901 (518) 561-3980. Online condolences may be offered at www.brownfuneralhomeinc.com.