The University of Windsor will commemorate the life of one of its best-loved athletic leaders in a celebration of life on Saturday.
Dennis Fairall died last week at the age of 67 after a battle against a rare degenerative brain disease called progressive supranuclear palsy. The disease has no known cure and impacts mobility and speech.
Fairall was the university's track and field head coach from 1985 until his retirement five years ago. He was one of the most decorated coaches in Canadian university history, having been recognized 65 times by sports organizations like the Canadian Interuniversity Sports and Ontario University Athletics.
In 28 seasons with the Lancers, his teams won 25 Canadian university cross country and track and field competitions and 46 Ontario championships.
The Celebration of Life starts at 1 p.m. It will be closed to the public but can be viewed online via TEAMS.
Speakers will pay tribute both in-person from the Dennis Fairall Field House at the St. Denis Centre, and in pre-recorded videos. Viewers will also watch memorial videos detailing Fairall's life and his impact on the student population.
