Accomplished Musician Was Faculty Member At Tennessee Temple
posted October 10, 2008
) Magdalene Faulkner |
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, the Rev. Dr. J. R. Faulkner, five sons and their wives, the Rev. Dr. Randy and Connie Faulkner, Oklahoma City, Ok., Robert and Donna Faulkner, Chattanooga, the Rev. Paul and Diana Faulkner, Chattanooga, Peter and Judy Faulkner, Valdosta, Ga., the Rev. Steve and Judy Faulkner, Simcoe, Ontario; 17 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
She is also survived by brothers and sisters, the Rev. Mahlon Amstutz, Wichita, Ks., Lois Bryan, Berne, In., the Rev. Jonathan Amstutz, Berne, and Elizabeth Hendrix, Richland, Mo.
She was preceded in death by her parents, the Rev. Menno S. and Louisa Sprunger Amstutz, her sister, Mary Amstutz, and her grandson, James Garland Faulkner.
Born in Berea, Ohio, in 1911, she was the daughter of a pastor who served churches in several Midwestern states. Her brothers were missionaries and two of her sisters, like herself, were married to ministers.
Magdalene graduated with degrees in English and music from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky. She completed the Master of Music degree under famed composer Rudolph Ganz, at the Chicago Musical College.
She worked hard to support herself while gaining her education during the most difficult years of the Great Depression. After teaching high school music in the Detroit, Michigan, public schools, she came to Tennessee to teach at Bob Jones College, then in Cleveland, where she met her husband.
Affectionately called "Matsie," Magdalene was the devoted wife of pastor and college administrator, J. R. Faulkner. Together they served happily in the ministries of Tennessee Temple College and the Highland Park Baptist Church, Chattanooga, beginning in 1949, after several years’ ministry in the South Rossville Baptist Church, Rossville, Ga.
For over 40 years she taught music appreciation, music history, and piano, every year preparing piano majors for their senior recitals. Her graduates have served in Christian leadership all over the world. One of her music students was the noted revivalist, Cliff Barrows.
An accomplished performer, she often played in faculty recitals. She was a gifted interpreter of the piano works of Chopin, Debussy, Bach and Liszt.
She wrote and performed original piano transcriptions of Christian hymns using classical motifs. She was often called upon to play solos for church meetings or to perform complete programs of her hymn transcriptions. She produced a record album of her piano arrangements in 1975.
As a pastor’s wife, she faithfully served in the ministries of the church as a Sunday school teacher, church pianist, and as a counselor and encourager to younger women.
She set an example of simplicity and serenity in her personal life. She loved gardening, homemaking, listening to classical music and opera, and travel. She faithfully read the Bible and had many passages devoted to memory. She loved missionaries and she and her husband prayed for many of them on a daily basis. An avid and comprehensive reader, she especially enjoyed the biographies of important historical figures.
She was devoted to her five sons, bringing them up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." They, along with her husband, "rise up and call her blessed."
The funeral service will be held at Highland Park Baptist Church, Chattanooga, on Monday, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Dr. Roy Ackerle and Dr. David Bouler officiating. Interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Baptist International Missions, 8614 Harrison Bay Road, Harrison, Tn. 37341; Highland Park Baptist Church, or to Camp Joy at 1907 Bailey Avenue, Chattanooga, Tn. 37404.
A visitation will be at the Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Chapel, on Sunday, from 2-6 p.m., and and her body will lie in state at the church from 10-11 a.m. on Monday.
Please share your thoughts and memories at Mem.com.
Arrangements are by the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 404 South Moore Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37412.
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