On Wednesday afternoon October 18, we were at Arkansas Hospice on the seventh floor at St. Vincent when Jesus appeared. He put his healing hands around CEILE ERWIN FAULKNER
and said, where we all could hear, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” At 3:12, He took her home. Thanks be to God.
Ceile’s journey began on April 30, 1952 in Little Rock, Ark. She was the daughter of Will B. Erwin and Marie Carpenter Erwin. She attended Pulaski Heights Elementary and then Pulaski Heights Junior High School. In junior high, she was a cheerleader for the Panthers and in the ninth grade, she was vice president of the student council. She graduated from LR Hall High School in 1970, where she was a Cheer-okee, Homeroom President, and a member of the Homecoming Court. She attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in the fall of 1970, where she lived at Fulbright and began the lifelong process of making new friends that would last a lifetime. In her sophomore year, she became a sister of the Arkansas Alpha chapter of Pi Beta Phi, with which she is still a very active and proud member. She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and moved back to her hometown of LIttle Rock and went to work teaching second grade at Miss Selma’s School.
In June of 1976, she married the luckiest man in the world, Jimmy Faulkner, with whom she had three children: Will, Lizzy, and Mary Margaret (Boogie). She took off her teaching hat and put on her Mother hat. She was always an active participant in all of the activities her family was involved in. Whether it was being Room Mom at Gibbs or President of the PTA at Williams Magnet, getting ready for dance recitals and church performances, sporting events and so many others, Ceile was always there, with her upbeat encouragement and love.
Her focus was making the lives of those around her better in whatever way they needed. She was in the business of serving others, whether she realized it or not, and the vehicle she used to do so was Catering to You. She began her career there in the mid-90s, helping out her friend Judy Adams, and she never looked back. She thoroughly enjoyed helping people plan for and celebrate the events of their lives.
Ceile enjoyed serving with others to make our community a more wonderful place to live. She was an active member in the Junior League of Little Rock, the 20th Century Club, where she served a term as President, as well as the AZ Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was a lifelong member of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, where she served in many capacities over the years, including as a Youth Sunday School teacher and counselor and was a prominent force in the Children’s Ministry. She and Jimmy were members of the Newton Good News Sunday School Class.
Ceile loved watching tennis, solving crossword puzzles, and making you feel special. She kept an immaculate calendar on her fridge so that she never forgot a birthday or anniversary of the ones she loved. She danced to the beat of her own rhythm and within minutes, you would find yourself clapping right along with her, feeling her energy and joy. She loved working her phone list each and every day to check in on friends and family. There was nothing quite like a phone call from Ceile. With a single “whatareyoudoing,” she could change your day from gray to great. She always left you better than you were when you started.
She is survived by her husband of 47 1/2 years, Jimmy Faulkner; her children, Will (Bailey), Lizzy (Scooter), and Mary Margaret. She dearly loved her five grandchildren: Sydney Faulkner, Annie and Mary Winston Chandler, and Marie and Addison James Morrissey. She is also survived by her sister, Lynne Knight (Ed); and her two nephews and niece and their children, her cousins, Martin Meneese (Nancy) and Laura Meneese; her mother-in-law, Martha Faulkner; and sisters-inlaw, Mary Ann Jackson (Billy), Susan Tynes, and Dee Nicholson; and her eight nieces and nephews and their children.
The Service of Celebration for Ceile’s life will be Friday, October 27, at 11 a.m. at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, with a reception following in the Great Hall. The service will be livestreamed at www.phumc.com/live and on the PHUMC app. The visitation will also be held at PHUMC in the Britt Skarda Gathering Hall from 5 - 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 26.
Memorials may be made at the Pulaski Heights United Methodist Foundation, 4823 Woodlawn Drive, Little Rock, Ark., 72205. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com.