Musician and restaurant owner, Bill Fairbanks, left this world in pursuit of the next on Sunday, January 30, 2022. He was 68 years old and succumbed to interstitial lung disease resulting from Scleroderma at his home in Saxapahaw, NC.

Bill grew up in a large family with 13 siblings in Hamilton, Ohio.  He began playing jazz at a young age, moved to the Bay Area in California, and played with the Avant Gardeners, Dan Hicks, Tom Waits, Ralph Carney, and collaborated with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch, along with many others. He and his wife of 47 years, Gail, also opened Mimosa Cafe, which was a popular vegetarian spot in Oakland. But most in Chapel Hill will know him as the man behind Carrburritos Taqueria, a beloved institution in Carrboro, which he and Gail opened in 1997 after moving to North Carolina, and is now run by his eldest daughter, Rae Mosher.

Until the very end, Bill spent his evenings listening to some good tunes with a glass of wine or a shot of gin, enjoying good cooking with his family, and reminiscing and telling stories with a wit for which he was renowned. He is survived by Gail, his daughter Lily and her husband, Sam Rudy, Rae, and her husband Sean Mosher, his grandchildren, Maya and Coltrane Mosher, and twelve of Bill's siblings: Marty Morrow, Polly Fairbanks and her husband Dave Wong, Dan Fairbanks and his husband Bill Gracie, Phyllis Fairbanks, Jon Fairbanks and his wife Sharon, Father Patrick Fairbanks, Steve Fairbanks and his wife Jeanne, Jim Fairbanks and his wife Peg, Tom Fairbanks and his wife Suzanne, George Fairbanks and his wife Laura, Jane Brossart and her husband Mark, and Rob Fairbanks, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. Preceded by his parents, Joe and Betty Fairbanks, and his brother, Edward Fairbanks.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages loved ones to support The Fairbanks House Museum, which is the oldest timber frame home standing in North America, and is a non-profit close to Bill's heart.

Green burial service provided by Vaughan-Guynn Funeral Home in Galax, VA.