Good-bye, Mr. Fairbank

Dan Fairbank is an old-school lecturer. For 27 years at Columbia Falls he made it a point to tell his students stories — many of them funny stories.

One class would get one story, another class a slightly different version and another class a twist on that.

Fairbank called it the three “e”s. Engage. Entertain. Educate.

The kids loved his style, his personality. Even the ones that flunked often told him he was their favorite teacher.

“Students relate to the stories he tells,” said junior Meghan McCallum, as she stopped by his room to have Fairbank sign her yearbook and just to chat after school. “He tells jokes that are funny.”

Even his discipline has a sense of humor. Students who use cell phones in class have them put in cell phone “jail” — a box covered in cartoons and doodles above the classroom door.

This is Fairbank’s last year teaching U.S. government and American history. He retires after a distinguished tenure at Columbia Falls High School.

The affable Fairbank grew up in Missoula, started college at Montana State University and finished up at the University of Montana with a degree in history and government and a minor in economics. He played junior varsity basketball for both colleges, which led to coaching later in life.

He taught and coached basketball for three years in Corvallis and then came to Columbia Falls in 1989. In addition to teaching, he’s either been a head coach or assistant basketball coach for the better of his career, including leading the girls basketball team to divisional titles when sisters Kelsey and Kayla DeWit played together in ‘09 and ‘10.

He also was an assistant football coach and junior high football coach for years. Radio listeners have grown accustomed to his color commentary for basketball and football games with Mike Hammer on KOFI radio, a stint he’s done for the past 16 years and plans on continuing after retirement.

Fairbank and his wife, Kathi, have three grown children, Chase, Ashli and Taylir. Chase teaches fourth-grade at Hedges Elementary in Kalispell. Kathi works in nuclear medicine at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

“She had the looks and brains,” he quipped. “I just got lucky.”

Fairbank isn’t quite sure what he’ll do in retirement. He knows he’ll find a part-time job in addition to the radio commentary.

The future is wide open. He has no regrets.

“My life has been defined by working with kids,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”