Miyako N. Fairbairn

MARRERO, LA - Miyako "Mickey" Nagao Fairbairn, 81, loving wife, mother, sister, and friend, passed away with her family by her side on Sunday, February 22, 2015 after a short but courageous battle with cancer. She is preceded in death by her Husband of 55 years, Joe Allen Fairbairn, her parents Mr. Yosuke Nagao, and Mrs. Hamako Nagao, and her sisters, Kiyoko Ichikawa, Chieko Nakashima, Mieko Kondo, and Haruko Oshima.

Miyako is survived by her son James “Jim” Fairbairn (wife Jacqueline), and daughter, Kriss Fairbairn Fortunato (husband Johnny), brothers, Keihachiro Nagao and Yoshinobu Nagao, and sister Sawako Nakashima. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Zachary, Ryan, and Stephanie Fairbairn, and Nicholas Fortunato.

Never putting herself first, Miyako cherished her life with her husband Joe, her children, grandchildren, and friends. Nothing was more important to her than spending quality time with her family.

Originally from Nagoya, Japan, Miyako grew up in a large, loving family of 7 brothers and sisters. As a young woman who spoke fluent English, she worked at the military news publication, Stars and Stripes on a US military base in Japan where she met a handsome US Marine, Joe Fairbairn. Miyako’s family was quite the traditional Japanese family, but after winning over the heart of her father and family, they would go on to wed in 1956 and ultimately share 55 years of their lives together. While Joe was in the Marines, they lived all over the world and after 27 years in the Marine Corps, Joe decided to retire from the Marines, and they settled down in Shreveport, Louisiana. Shortly after moving back to the US, in 1971, Miyako became a US Citizen which was one of the proudest moments of her life. Miyako and Joe were a great couple, in addition to raising their two children, they especially enjoyed going to LSU football games, vacationing in Fort Walton Beach, taking their boat out to Cross Lake, picnicking at the American Legion, going to Barksdale Air Force Base, and supporting the local Shreveport Community. While in Shreveport, she started to work at the local Montgomery Ward department store, and quickly worked her way to the Regional Fashion Merchandising Manager’s position and subsequently retired from Montgomery Ward.

Miyako was a hard core and avid football fan. She loved the Cowboys, Saints, and of course the LSU Tigers. She was a true fan and follower of the sport. Known by her friends as “Mickey”, she had many close friends in Shreveport, and her time there was precious. She was an avid dancer from her younger days and loved to Waltz, Cha Cha, Rumba, and Jitterbug. Additionally, she was an integral part of the Shreveport Japanese Women’s group that performed authentic Japanese dance performances in various states, and was once featured on the front page of the Shreveport Times.

As their grandchildren grew older, Miyako and Joe moved to New Orleans in order to be closer to the kids. They spent the remainder of their lives there, enjoying the grandchildren, making their occasional trips to Florida and Houston, going to the local Naval Air base, and simply enjoying life.

Miyako will be remembered for her selfless devotion to her family, her patience and wisdom, her soft spoken nature, her intelligence, and the love of her family and friends. She often amazed her kids and grandchildren by her ability to add dozens of double digit numbers in her head in a matter of seconds and give the correct answer. She always had a positive attitude and everyone especially loved talking with her, joking with her, and sometimes even poking fun with her – all because she was so beautiful inside, was such a good sport, and for her great sense of humor. She always put others before herself, even while she was battling for her life against cancer.

A graveside service will be held at Centuries Memorial Park in Shreveport, LA, on Saturday, February 28, 2015, at 3:30 pm. Centuries Memorial Funeral Home, 8801 Mansfield Road, Shreveport, LA, 71108. For further funeral information please call Centuries Memorial at 318-686-4334. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, at https://donate.cancer.org. Family and friends may view and sign the online guestbook at www.centuriesmemorialfh.com.