Cornelius Lansing Fair died January 27, 2022, in Cambridge at the age of 85. Lansing graduated from Philips Exeter Academy and Harvard College (AB ‘58), then served two years on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in active-duty naval service. He attended Harvard Business School (MBA ‘62), then joined the Naval Reserve in New York City, retiring as a full lieutenant.
Lansing had three special interests: urban planning, affordable housing, and ancient Greek sites. He began his career in the Urban Renewal Administration (predecessor to HUD). To learn more about international city planning, he moved to Athens, Greece in 1964 to work and study with Constantine Doxiadis, joining the team to help plan the City of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Returning to Cambridge, Lansing founded Better Cities, Inc. in 1971, a company he ran for 40 years that was dedicated to building energy-efficient, low-income, and affordable housing. This was a cause he championed the rest of his life.
His love of Greece, sparked in the 1960s, was sustained through creating educational opportunities. Lansing helped launch the Aegean Institute, a summer college program in Greece. He and his wife, Julie, organized educational family school trips to Greece from 1988 to 2011. During these trips he began to collect antiquarian prints of ancient Greek sites. A lifelong learner, at age 63 he returned to Harvard for a Masters in Classics and Archaeology (MA, ‘99).
Lansing was a member of many non-profit boards, including CHAPA, Homeowners Rehab, Boston Neighborhood Housing Services, United Way, and Boston Harbor Associates. He was a member of the Harvard Travellers Club, Cambridge Boat Club, The Cambridge Club, and several book clubs.
Lansing leaves his wife of 50 years, Julia Marthena (Clark), and children Nathaniel and Elizabeth Fair (Clement Yeh) and grandchildren Elsa, Thea, and Rowan. He also leaves niece Tory Fair and nephews Gordon and Gardner Fair. He is predeceased by his brother, Gordon M. Fair, Jr. and sister-in-law Abigail, and is son of the late Esther and Gordon Maskew Fair, Harvard Professor and former Master of Dunster House.
Lansing was happiest out on the water, surrounded by family. He met his wife, Julie, sailing at Community Boating on the Charles River. For more than 80 years, he spent summers visiting Squam Lake in New Hampshire with his family. A Cantabrigian to his core, he was beloved by many and will be dearly missed. A memorial gathering will be planned for a future date.