He was the father of Texas Real Estate.
Everyone knew and loved David Lewis Fair, 77, who passed away Oct. 11, 2018, after a five-year battle with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. David was born in Dallas on August 15, 1941, to parents William Wren Fair, Jr. and Doris Elizabeth McCommas Fair. He attended Highland Park High School and graduated from Southern Methodist University with both his bachelor’s degree and a law degree. David founded Plano Title Company in 1965 and then later purchased Hexter-Fair Title Company from his father in the late 1970s. David eventually sold Hexter-Fair Title Company in 2012 and retired in early 2015 after 50 years in the title business.
David was well-known across Texas for his expertise in real estate transactions. In fact, he served for many years on the Texas Real Estate Broker-Lawyer Committee, helping to write much of the language in the standard/promulgated contract forms that are used in Texas real estate transactions to this day. Over the years David taught many classes to real estate agents and mortgage lenders, mixing his sage advice with his well-known sense of humor. For his work in the title industry, David received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from the Collin County Association of Realtors. Outside of work, he was known to love playing guitar and was an avid runner, completing twenty marathons across the nation including multiple finishes at the renowned Boston Marathon. David also was a passionate supporter of the SMU athletic program.
David is survived by his loving wife Robin Fair, whom he married in 1999. He is also survived by his adult children: daughter Ellen Fair Terrell and her husband Charlie, of Dallas; son Britt Fair and his wife Sue, of Dallas; son Logan Fair, of Dallas; and son Grayson Fair, of Taos, NM; his two adult step-daughters: Anna Dupree Browning, of Dallas; and Heather Dupree Goodrich and her husband Matt, of Dallas; by his nine grandchildren: Ryan Brady, Charlie Terrell III, Will Terrell, Olivia Fair, Jackson Fair, Tori Fair, Beau Browning, Reese Browning, and Caroline Goodrich; and by many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his brother, William Wren Fair, III.
A memorial service will be held at Highland Park United Methodist Church (3300 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas) on Friday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m.
