James Faulkner

1944 - 2020

On Tuesday, October 13, 2020, James Vincent Faulkner, Jr., loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed away at the age of 76. Jim, as he was known to his family and friends, was born and raised on March 25, 1944 in Long Island, NY to James V. Faulkner, Sr. and Josephine (née Fitzsimmons) Faulkner. He graduated from Xavier High School in 1962 and went on to attend Georgetown University on full academic scholarship, where he was one of forty selected for the Honors Program. In 1966, he completed his Bachelor of Science in Biology, before going on to acquire a Masters in Microbiology (1968), and ultimately his Law degree in 1970.

While at Georgetown, he met his wife Bettina (née van der Plas) Faulkner, who had moved to Washington, DC from Caracas, Venezuela to attend Georgetown University's School of Languages and Linguistics. On August 10, 1968, they married in Trinity Church in Georgetown, and within two years gave birth to their first daughter, Alysia Cristina. They subsequently moved to New York city where their second daughter, Martina Elena, was born two years later, with James Vincent, III arriving six years later.

Once in New York, after spending five years working at two New York law firms, Jim began his career as a corporate lawyer with Union Pacific in 1975, where he worked for thirteen years. In 1988, Jim was promoted to General Counsel of USPCI, an acquisition of Union Pacific, and moved to Houston, TX. Five years later, he accepted a position as General Counsel of Pactiv (then Tenneco Packaging), where he led the company through its IPO. He remained at Pactiv until 2006, when he suffered a stroke.

Jim had a passion for good conversation, often extending dinner parties into the wee hours of the morning gathered around a fire with cigars and champagne. In the years before his stroke, he enjoyed traveling, especially to Ireland where he returned to horseback riding in the countryside. He had an immeasurable zest for life and loved his family above all else.

Jim is survived by his wife, Bettina, his children, Alysia, Martina, and James, their spouses, Burt (Alysia) and Alexandra (James), and his grandchildren, Christopher, Isabella, Eva, and Caiden.

A closed funeral service was held on Monday, October 19, 2020 at St. Francis Xavier Church in Wilmette, IL. Due to current restrictions, attendance is by invitation only. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in his memory to support neurosurgery research at the University of Chicago Medicine. Checks may be made payable to the "University of Chicago Medicine" and sent to the following address: University of Chicago Gift Administration and Business Data, James Faulkner Memorial, 5235 S. Harper Court, 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60615. Or, you can donate online at: giving.uchicago.edu/james-faulkner.

Info:www.donnellanfuneral.com or (847)675-1990.