* Katherine Fairbanks; Fillmore Native, Librarian

Fillmore native Katherine Fairbanks, a retired U.S. Postal Service employee, librarian and naturalist, died Monday at the Fillmore Convalescent Center. She was 88.

Fairbanks was born May 27, 1912, and was the youngest child of Fergus and Helen Fairbanks. Her parents owned an orange grove along 4th Street, a neighborhood where Fairbanks lived most of her life and where friends say she developed a knowledge of virtually every bird, plant and animal native to the area.

Fairbanks graduated from Fillmore High School in 1929 and attended Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Later, she worked for the Postal Service and the Fillmore Public Library. She raised flower bulbs as a sideline business.

During World War II, Fairbanks was a plane spotter in an observation tower in Fillmore.

She was active in the Ventura County Philatelic Society, Ventura County Book Club, Ventura County New West Symphony, Fillmore Junior Stamp Club, Fillmore-Piru Environmental League, Fillmore Garden Club and the Audubon Society’s annual bird count.

She was an avid painter and short-story writer. According to friends, Fairbanks knew the common and Latin names of every plant and most birds. She also enjoyed traveling and particularly enjoyed attending travelogue shows at Oxnard College. Friends say she spent many hours with children, teaching them about gardening, stamp collecting and the area’s natural environment.

Fairbanks is survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the Skillin-Carroll Mortuary in Fillmore, which is handling arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be sent to the Friends of the Fillmore Public Library.