Deacon Willie James Faulkner Sr. a longtime resident of Pelham, NY, departed this life on August 21, at the age of 80. Willie was born in Gadsden Alabama on April 5, 1941 as the only child to Henry James Faulkner and Mary Mae Butler.
Willie graduated from Carver High School in Gadsden Alabama in 1959. He attended Jackson State University where he played on the football team as an offensive lineman. He graduated with a degree in education
Willie served in Vietnam as a member of the US Army. After relocating to New York, Willie attended NYU, where he received a Master’s Degree in Education. Willie met and married the love of his life Bessie Mae Harvey on June 30, 1964, they had two children, Willie Jr. and one daughter Munester.
Willie had a long career in the Yonkers Public Schools where he was remembered and loved. He also served as a Board member for the Yonkers Police Athletic League, where he never stopped helping young adults. He liked to give back to the underpriviledged by giving and exposing them to sporting events and broadway plays. “I don’t know what else to do because this is what I was put here to do.”
Willie was a long time member of Shiloh Baptist Church in New Rochelle where he was ordained as a Deacon. His loving compassionate spirit, generosity and devotion to others exemplified the tenets of Christianity.
Willile was an active member of James Farrell Lodge, and was a founding member of “Minority Athletes Networking” (MAN), where he worked with members of the NY Giants Football team to raise money for scholarships for underpriviledged young black men. He was close friends with NY Giants, George Martin, Pepper Johnson and Harry Carson, who attended several PAL fund raisers with Willie.
Willie is survived by his wife, Bessie Mae, son Willie Jr. and daughter Munester, and three grandsons who live in Yonkers.
Editor’s Note: As a young board members of the Yonkers PAL, I can remember how Willie used his connections to the NFL to help the PAL hold a raffle for two super bowl tickets year after year, and that fund raiser brought in tens of thousands of dollars, to help the PAL.
We spoke to former PAL President Howard Berman who said, “Willie was very involved with the PAL, going way back to when he was a counselor at Roosevelt High School. Many of the students at Roosevelt would come to the PAL and Willie got involved then.”
“Willie raised thousands of dollars for the PAL by obtaining two Super Bowl tickets that we would raffle off. He never stopped working for kids and he helped a lot of kids change their lives for the better.”
God Bless Willie Faulkner
