Details were important to David Falkner, often times to the amazement of his family.
He logged everything, his son said: gas mileage, the cost of household utilities, car repairs and anything else that could be recorded.
“It was unbelievable,” said his son Richard Murray, of Warrior, Ala. “He did that with everything, he was a stickler for details.”
When teaching his daughter to drive, Mr. Falkner, a professional pilot, approached the driver’s seat of a car much like he did a cockpit, she said.
“He’d check the oil, check the wipers … every time we got in the car,” Cindy Wiles, of Arlington, Texas, said of her father. “He made sure everything was right before we got on the road.”
Mr. Faulkner, who was a commercial pilot who mostly flew as part of his job with the Federal Aviation Administration, had a similar pre-flight routine, she said.
“He hated to fly commercial,” Mrs. Wiles said. “We’d be getting ready for take-off, and he’d hear something and say, ‘I don’t like that sound, I’d check that out.’ He’d rather be in the cockpit.”
Mr. Falkner’s habits brought a sense of security to his family, his daughter said.
“I never had to worry about anything, he was a great provider,” she said.
David Joel Falkner, of Douglasville, died suddenly at home Thursday, due to complications of a fall and an aneurysm. He was 84. A memorial service was held Sunday at Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home. A funeral is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home in Birmingham, with burial to follow at Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Trussville, Ala. Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Falkner decided to become a pilot after serving in the Navy during World War II, said his wife Arlette Falkner, of Douglasville. During the war he drove a bulldozer and cleared land for airstrips, she said.
“When he got back, he got to talking with his brother Pete, who flew planes in the war,” Mrs. Falkner said. “And Pete said he wanted to drive a bulldozer and David said he wanted to learn to fly, so they kind of switched roles. Pete had a bulldozer company and David learned to fly.”
Mr. Falkner worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for 36 years, moving from air traffic control to a management-level position in the flight standards department. He retired in 1986, in Birmingham, and took care of his first wife, Meryle June Washington Falkner until her death in 1989.
The last wish of his late wife was that he “move on and find a nice lady,” said Mr. Murray, his son. A couple of years later, he did just that. Mr. Falkner moved back to Atlanta and became an active member of Central Baptist Church, in Douglasville. During a singles Bible study, he met Arlette Thomas Posey and they married in 1992.
For 16 years, Mr. Falkner and his second wife enjoyed their blended families.
“He took my children in as if they were his and cared for us all,” Mrs. Falkner said. “He was such a wonderful caring man who really took care of the ones he loved.”
Mr. Falkner is also survived by daughters, LaJuana Jean Fiester of Hiram and Janice Grant of Birmingham, Scott Posey of Marietta; son Justin Posey of Atlanta ; 13 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; brother, Earnest "Pete" Falkner of Columbiana, Ala. and two sisters, Marie Owen and Ellen Falkner of Birmingham.
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