The remains of ex-Tulsa County Sheriff Dave Faulkner were buried Thursday afternoon, accompanied by the wail of Taps, the staccato of gunfire and the rumble of thunder. The man who was sheriff for 23 years was interred at Memorial Park Cemetery. His graveside service and the memorial service at Kirk of the Hills United Presbyterian Church was attended by hundreds of people, including representatives from area sheriffs' and police departments, politicians, dignitaries, family and friends. Faulkner, 79, died Sunday. "He was a good one," said Dr. James Struthers, pastor at the church and a long-time friend of Faulkner's. "Using the old cliche we've heard many times in Oklahoma, he was as clean as a hound's tooth." Struthers described Faulkner as a man of dignity, who disdained trumpet blowing, favoring instead to attend to both duty and personal life quietly, with dedication and without complaint. "My last visit with our friend, I said `How are you doing?' " Struthers said. "He said `Very well,' as with great difficulty he went down the stairs of the church." Former Tulsa County District Attorney Buddy Fallis called Faulkner "truly a treasure." Fallis and Faulkner were elected to their respective offices in 1958. Fallis retired in 1981, Faulkner in 1982. "He didn't just occupy the office, he worked at it and improved it until it was looked at with envy by other officials," Fallis said. Fallis said Faulkner inspired such loyalty that deputies remained in his service despite low pay. At the same time, Faulkner remained loyal to the men and women who worked for him, said Fallis. He was also fiercely loyal to his friends and family, said Fallis. He called Faulkner a deceptively quiet man who allowed himself to become a high-profiled character. "As a politician he was perhaps the most popular figure to ever run for local office," said Fallis, adding that Faulkner usually led the Democratic ticket in Tulsa County. Fallis said after he learned of Faulkner's death, he envisioned an image of his long-time friend that didn't match a nearby photograph. It took him a moment to determine why, he said. "In the photo he wasn't wearing his white hat," said Fallis. "How appropriate that I should remember him, and that he should be remembered by many of the people here, as the man in the white hat, the small white Stetson that he always wore. The good guy - one of the men in the white hat." "Somewhere in this state, I'm sure there is at least one person who was influenced by Dave, and will seek public office," said Carl Davis, Faulkner's son-in-law. "That will be a tribute to Dave." Davis said he learned leadership from Faulkner. He described him as a man who never raised his voice, never told people what to do. "He asked them, and they did it because they respected him," said Davis. A nearly two-mile funeral procession wound through rush-hour traffic from the church to the cemetery. It was led and accompanied by police and sheriff's cars with flashing lights, most occupied by at least four officers in an effort to shorten the length of the procession. Faulkner's casket was carried to its grave beneath rumbling clouds that shed rain upon his mourners. The graveside ceremonies ended with three volleys of gunfire from a police honor guard. Then a police trumpeter's Taps echoed across the cemetery.
Tulsa World
Mike Kimbrell
Oct. 25, 1991