Neil Falconer

Neil E. Falconer

April 1, 1923 – April 5, 2014

Neil, of Lafayette, the son of Eric and Janet Falconer, died just days after celebrating his 91st birthday with his wife of over 63 years, Barbara, his two sons, David and Bruce, and other loved ones.

A life-long East Bay resident, Neil graduated from University High in Oakland.  He earned his undergraduate degree in economics at U.C. Berkeley in 1943 (Phi Beta Kappa).  Neil was the recipient of a Scaife Foundation scholarship and was later a Scaife scholars' counselor for many years.  He served his country for three years during World War II as an Army Transportation Corps officer in the South Pacific.  After the War, Neil earned his law degree at Boalt Hall, where he graduated second in his class in 1949 and helped edit the law review.

Neil enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a San Francisco attorney, starting at Jesse Steinhart's office in 1949, later becoming a partner in Steinhart, Goldberg, Feigenbaum & Ladar, and a name partner in Steinhart & Falconer.  He loved the law and was "a lawyer's lawyer" and a fine litigator who won many trials.  One of his most satisfying cases was being on the winning side of the "ComputerLand" trial in 1984.  In "The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law", dedicated in part to Neil, the author described Neil as "il miglior fabbro" or, translated, "the better craftsman."

His passion for the law was matched by his passion for chess.  Neil was captain of the Cal chess team, a member of the Castle Chess Club, and won the California Open Chess Championship in 1951 and the U.S. Senior Champion title in 1992.  The longest serving trustee in Mechanic's Institute history (1973-2012), Neil was known as "the defender of the Chess Room" and was instrumental in bringing international grandmasters to San Francisco to play in chess tournaments.

Neil's greatest passion, however, was his wife Barbara, whom he met in Berkeley in 1949 and married in 1950.  They shared a wonderful life together, raised two boys who grew up to become, respectively, a hand surgeon in St. Paul, Minnesota and a lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska.  Neil and Barbara travelled extensively, including a number of trips to Europe, and trips to the (then) Soviet Union, China, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Turkey.  Neil was an avid Shakespeare fan and a strong patron and supporter of the arts.  His appetite for books was insatiable.  Neil's laugh was infectious and he was generous with his time and wallet to those in need of assistance.  Along with Barbara, Neil was a regular Lafayette Reservoir walker who picked up numerous tons of trash during those walks.  He enjoyed backpacking trips with his sons in the Sierras and instilled in both of them a love of the Great Outdoors.

In addition to his wife Barbara and his sons David (Shoshana) and Bruce (Sharon), Neil is survived by his grandsons Benjamin and Noah Falconer of Minnesota, and his granddaughters Evan and Jean Falconer and grandsons Scott and Neil Falconer of Alaska

A celebration of Neil's life is being planned.

The family suggests donations to Mechanics' Institute or charity of your choice.