CAT | In Memory Of
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In Memory of Kathryn Jones Faulkner
Comments | Posted by Jared Scheib in In Memory Of, Media, Old Stories
Just two days ago, we found out that Kathryn Jones Faulkner had passed away during the night. Our condolences go out to her family, friends, and Ernie, her husband whom she married a little over a year ago. Kathryn quickly became a good friend of ours, and Ashley and I are very sad to lose her. What a wonderful, wonderful woman she was. In addition to being so genuinely and deeply caring, friendly, and welcoming, she possessed a youthful energy and humor that could set the world on fire.
I told her a few months ago, when we screened the Old Stories at TVN, that whenever I edit her footage, I can’t stop smiling and laughing. She just had a special, unassuming, life-abounding presence about her. Her smile was contagious and her laughter inspiring. Yesterday, after visiting with Ernie for a while, I continued working on a scene where she gives Ernie two chocolate chip cookie cakes for Valentine’s Day that she had made, one inscribed with the word “love”. I marveled as she walked with her true Texan gait into her closet to uncover the two cookie cakes that she had hidden there. She snickered, turned to us on camera, and, pausing for a moment to let us in on the secret before beckoning to Ernie, informed us in playful delight, “That’s a big cookie”. Classic Kathryn.
Every time we visited the newlyweds, Kathryn would take our hands and tell us how much both she and Ernie enjoyed spending time with us, smiles all around. I hope the following video, the latest addition to the Old Stories series, can speak even just a little to her beautiful humanity and grace, as she takes us back to her youngest years, when she was a feisty little troublemaker. We miss you, Kathryn.
Just last week, we were informed that one of the men featured in the short version of Life’s Waltz, passed away. This man was the kind, generous, and humorous Bob Talty, husband to Dorothy Talty. Bob and Dorothy were the hilarious married couple who finished each others’ sentences, helped each other out in a time of illness, and had found happiness together throughout 54 years of marriage:
After today’s filming, Jared and I both confronted the notion that there will be many heartbreaks for us both in the next couple of years.
Why? you wonder.
For the past few months and a year ago with our short film, Jared and I have been making friends with countless octogenarians and nonagenarians (80-year-olds and 90-year-olds)–many whom we have become quite close with. These interactions are remarkable: how many twenty-somethings bond with a large group of 80-somethings anyway? But, these friendships also mean that we must confront the notion that these friends will pass away in the next decade or so–at TVN alone, there have been four deaths just in this past week. For some, the idea of talking about or preparing for death is morbid, morose, and even depressing. But for Jared and I, exploring this topic is part of the path we have chosen. The immediate grief we feel from Bob’s passing is only an acknowledgment that we have lost his physical presence. I personally feel death is most certainly a part of life, not an end to life; and with that in mind, I see Life’s Waltz as a means to honor our friendship with Bob, the Talty’s lives together, and their stories and the stories of the other seniors involved. And, our current Life’s Waltz should prove a testament to the lives and stories of all of our new friends at TVN. Here’s to many more years with all of them!
All our love to the unforgettable, one-of-a-kind Bob Talty.
Just a couple of days ago, we were informed that one of the women we had been shooting with passed away suddenly two weeks ago today. This is in memory of Jackie Lane. She was so gracious, warm and inviting, and unmatched in her excitement to work with us. Really a very special, beautiful person. We’ll miss her. We’ll miss sitting and talking with her at great length after the camera stopped rolling. We’ll miss staying up until 1am drinking wine with her in the solitude of her room. She was a very unique, open-minded, funny, and spiritual woman, with an intellectual and emotional vigor for transforming her understanding of her own history and challenges into a means of helping others. Here’s to you, Jackie.
