Bethany resident, Lavon Henry Bair, known as Von, died on Monday, March 12, 2012 of mesothelioma. Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, he enlisted in the US Navy, and was accepted to the Naval Academy for officer training, graduating in 1956.
He served on both ships and submarines and taught in Yale's Naval ROTC program, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant. He earned an MA in International Relations from Yale in 1965. Bair worked in Yale's office of financial aid and later as the chief of operations for several museums, including the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Bair competed in 30 marathons and his home-brewed beer won first place in national competitions. As a Bethany Land Trust member, he maintained the organization's public hiking trails. He volunteered at Yale's Peabody Museum, teaching school children about minerals and dinosaurs. He also restored fossilized bones in the dinosaur lab.
Bair leaves behind his son, Vonn Scott Bair of San Francisco, his daughter, Katney Bair, and his granddaughter, Isabel Courtelis, both of New Haven.
