Vernon “Pete” Lee Fay, loving father, proud grandfather, and loyal friend, passed away peacefully on Sept. 28, 2022.
Born on Aug. 4, 1945, in Wheeling, West Virginia, Pete was the fourth of six children to Ava Catherine (Davis) and Victor Curtis Fay. Raised in Southeast Indiana, Pete was an accomplished athlete at Lawrenceburg High School. He set records in track, excelled in basketball, and threw a mean knuckleball.
Pete married his high school sweetheart, Linda Lue (Acra), in 1965 and they started raising their son, Mark Vernon Fay, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and later, Cincinnati, Ohio.
He married his second wife, Linda Marie (Halbrook) in 1978 in Cincinnati, and then moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where they raised Pete’s son, Mark, and Linda’s daughter, Jennifer Ann (Halbrook) together.
Pete worked as a maintenance supervisor for large rental property complexes and later retired from Target Stores as a maintenance manager. He had a strong work ethic, always worked with his hands, and could fix just about anything. He spent retirement creating a tropical oasis out of his secluded property, firing up his grill, and enjoying a good glass of bourbon on the deck of his Florida home with his beloved partner of over 30 years, Donna Gayle Bynum.
In addition to Donna, Pete is survived by his brothers, Victor Curtis Fay Jr. and Arthur Carl Fay, his son, Mark Vernon Fay, his daughter-in-law, Jennifer Christine (Croce) Fay, his grandson, Luke Vernon Fay, and his Ann (Halbrook) Spraggins, whom he loved as his own, as well as her husband, James Paul Spraggins, and their three children: Hailey Ann Spraggins, Craig James Spraggins, and Kailyn Marie Spraggins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his first and second wives, his sisters, Delores Ann Fay and Linda Jacqueline Fay, and his youngest brother, David Wayne Fay.
Pete had a happy-go-lucky disposition, an enduringly positive outlook, and loved nothing more than to spend time with his family and friends. We will miss the joy and inevitable laughter that came with being in the same room- or on the same deck- as Pete.
There will be a gathering for family and friends at the Fitch-Denney Funeral Home in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, starting at 3 p.m. A memorial service for Pete will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Pete’s name can be made to the American Cancer Society.