Larry Faulkner

Larry E. Faulkner of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, passed away on Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the age of 75 after a short battle with cancer. He grew up in Haleyville, Alabama, where his parents owned Faulkner Grocery. He spent hours playing guitar and tennis with his friends. After graduating from Haleyville High School, he served in the Air Force, and graduated from the Universiy of North Alabama, where he met and wooed the love of his life, Sandra McPherson, by playing a baritone ukulele on the steps of the science building and singing “Scotch and Soda”.

He built a family and a successful career in logistics as a district manager for Ryder. He loved playing guitar, photography, and dancing with the Birmingham Beach Shaggers and the Concordia Club. His retirement years were spent on the golf course with his “other brother Larry”. He also started a “Honey-do” business as a handyman and landscaper for the neighborhood. This led to a job at Rocky Ridge Hardware in Vestavia where he never met a stranger, including the stray cats that congregated behind the store. The cats seemed to follow him home, and he couldn't stand to see them go hungry. He was a perpetual comedian with a perfectly-timed wit and a humble sense of gratitude. Every time he was ready to leave, he’d say, “Well, boys and girls…” He never lost his sense of humor and was grateful to the doctors, nurses, and support staff at UAB Oncology and Palliative Care and the hospice team from Expectcare: Bailey, Deborah, and Valerie. He was especially grateful to his loving wife of fifty-three years, Sandra McPherson Faulkner, who never left his side.

He is survived by his wife and his two daughters Stacy (Jeremy) Thompson and Amanda (Jeff) Faulkner-Barrett, and his grandchildren Henry Barrett, Hazel Barrett, Rachel Whittington, Avery Thompson, and Lucy Whittington. He is preceded in death by his brother Charles “Mitch” Faulkner, his father John Cecil Faulkner, and his mother Bernice Marie Thompson Faulkner.

Friends are cordially invited to the reception and visitation with the family on Thursday, the 17th of March, from five o’clock in the evening until seven o’clock in the evening at Ridout’s Valley Chapel located at 1800 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, Alabama 35209. Burial will be held privately for the family at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama.

The family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Larry’s name be directed to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society or to a charity or cause important to you.

We invite you to take a moment to share memories and words of comfort and condolence with his family by selecting the "Add A Memory" icon below. Services are under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood.