Obituaries

Barbara Ann (Rockwell) Fairbairn, a native of Macomb, IL, passed away Wednesday, February 26th in Dallas, Texas. Before leaving Macomb, she began working on a business degree at Western Illinois University. But, was forced to drop out when her father died suddenly.

She was married not long after and supported her husband while he attended medical school. She had three sons with him as she moved with him for his medical career. After a couple of years they settled in Rochelle, Illinois, where she was an active member and officer of the Rochelle Women’s Club. She took custody of the children when they divorced.

Being a very independent person, she moved with the boys to Dundee, Illinois and completed her business degree while raising them. She remarried and moved to Saint Charles, and although that marriage eventually ended, she remained in the same home for 45 years and found work at Metropolitan life insurance until her retirement. Her home became a center of the extended family, hosting many holidays with her siblings and their families.

She enjoyed a number of activities, finding a life long hobby in genealogy, managing to trace her Rockwell roots back to their arrival in New England in the mid 17th century.  She was also active in her church, most recently at the Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Charles, where she could often be found participating in the choir. Moreover, she was an early member of the Delnor Hospital Women’s Auxiliary and occasionally taught business-related topics at area high schools and community colleges.

When she had an unexplained medical event in 2019 that left her unconscious on the floor for two days, she could no longer live alone and moved to a retirement facility.

Ms. Fairbairn is survived by two children, Donald Craig Hinderliter and Timothy James Hinderliter, as well as six grandchildren and a great granddaughter. Her eldest son, David William Hinderliter, passed away in 2014. She never forgot a birthday for any of them. At ninety-one years old, she was the last survivor of five siblings.

A funeral service will be held in her honor on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 11:00 A.M. at the St. Charles Congregational United Church of Christ, 40W451 Fox Mill Blvd, St. Charles, IL. A burial will follow at Union Cemetery in St. Charles.

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