They said of him that he was "generous to a fault."

North Branch native Gerald Fairbanks died Dec. 12 and was laid to rest Monday.

A graduate of NBHS, Fairbanks served in the Army during the Korean War. He served in some of that war's most horrible battles. For decades he received a holiday phone call from his unit's medic, whose life he saved by carrying him to an aid station behind the front. His family only knew of this selfless act by being present at those emotional call.

See the full obituary.