Gary Faulkner
September 20, 1944 - November 14, 2021
Oxford, North Carolina - Gary Doyle Faulkner, 77, passed away on November 14, 2021, surrounded by family at his home in Oxford, North Carolina.
Gary was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi on September 20, 1944. He grew up in a modest house next to a rural airport, inspiring a lifelong love of flying small airplanes. As a young boy, he pumped water from the family well because his home had no indoor plumbing. Gary lost his father at the age of six, his mother worked in the textile industry, and his adored brother Leon was 15 years older than he. With much time to spend alone, he entertained himself reading books in the library, finding animals to raise, rummaging through the woods with a .22 rifle, and concocting science experiments. He spent happy summers on the Cash River in Arkansas with his grandmother and "Uncle Burley", who fished and trapped for a living.
Gary's mother encouraged his education and musical interests, prompting him to teach himself guitar and go on to play in several bands. He completed his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Georgia State University, and later studied mathematics, earning a master's degree from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology. Gary met Marian (Mia) Bray while working at a chemical company, and they later married and raised two children. They moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where Gary got an appointment as a professor of mathematics at North Carolina State University. He published 14 papers and was cited over 90 times. Gary had a large impact on his students and can be remembered for his sayings, one of which was "Be kind to mean people. They need it most." He helped two families of Vietnamese Montagnard refugees settle in the USA, and many regarded him as a friend to those in need.
Gary was extremely bright, naturally talented in many arenas, and pursued multiple hobbies. He earned a private pilot's license, taught himself how to machine guns, and spent several summers collaborating on mathematical research in Italy at the Università degli Studi di Perugia. Gary moved to Oxford, NC to fulfill his dream of a house with sufficient land to do target shooting. He remarried and spent the rest of his life in Oxford with his wife Karen. In retirement, he took courses in machine shop at Vance Granville Community College, where he made many new and deep friendships.
Gary loved his family and friends, animals (particularly his dog Sophie and a deer fawn named Lucy), computers, fossil hunting on Falls Lake, science fiction, .22 rifles, playing guitar, caramel fudge candy, Cheetos, Diet Coke, fried catfish, margherita pizzas with anchovies, key lime and lemon icebox pies, dirty jokes, sunflowers, his BMW Z3 M, photography, Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family, Kruger National Park (South Africa), button down shirts with pockets, and back scratches. During his final weeks, Gary brought his family together in love, his final gift to us.
Gary was preceded in death by his father James Grady Faulkner, and his mother Tezzie Faulkner (nee Williams). Gary is survived by his wife Karen Chiswell, children Katharine Faulkner and Peter Faulkner, brother Leon Faulkner, niece Tena McQueen, great niece Ashlee Fulmer, and her children Lane and Mac.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Parkinson's Foundation (https://www.parkinson.org/), or Hospice Care Charity Foundation (Medi Home Health & Hospice, c/o Hospice Care Charity, 665 Carver Drive, Suite B, Roxboro, NC 27573).
A private celebration of Gary's life with friends and family will be arranged in the coming weeks.
Online condolences may be made at eakesfuneralhome.com
Eakes Funeral Home in Oxford is assisting The Faulkner Family.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News & Observer on Nov. 21, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for Gary Faulkner

Sponsored by Sossamon Funeral Home - Oxford.

2 Entries

Richard A. Oberle

June 16, 2023

I am sorry to hear of Gary's passing. I knew Gary in the 1970s. We were each researching a common area of mathematics and frequently met at meetings of the American Mathematics Society. The last time we spoke was by telephone in the late 1980s or early 1990's.

I last saw Gary at a meeting of the American Mathematics Society in St. Louis, Mo. in January 1976. I had gone to the meeting directly from my father's funeral. It was an extremely cold week and no one was out and about due to the extremely low temperature and wind chill factor (on the order of -50 deg F). I ran into Gary in the lobby of the hotel and we went to a nearby bar for a drink. We talked mathematics for awhile but eventually the topic of favorite old-drunk jokes came up. He told me his favorite joke and I told him my favorite joke. His joke was so much better than mine. I nearly fell off the bar stool with laughter. My new favorite became the joke he told. I have told those two jokes many times over the years and without exception, his joke leaves listeners with side splitting laughter. I'll never forget that evening. For an hour or so, I forgot about the loss of my father. I'm very sorry that Gary is gone.

I recently began revisiting topics in the mathematical research area we were investigating in the 1970's. I discovered his obituary while searching the internet for any mathematics papers he had authored since then. I'm very sorry for your loss.