Obituary of Charles A. Faltz

Dr. Charles A. (Chuck) Faltz, clinical psychologist, native Midwesterner, longtime Palo Alto resident and loyal 49ers fan passed away on January 19, 2015. Born in 1938 to Angela Como Faltz and Raymond C. Faltz, Chuck was molded for life by his idyllic boyhood in the small town of Somonauk, IL. His mother, a Sicilian immigrant, and his father, editor and publisher of the town weekly The Somonauk Reveille, instilled in him the values of hard work, frugality, and integrity, and the importance of education. From a paper route in the fourth grade to a job mowing lawns that would help pay for his education to a 46-year career in clinical psychology, Chuck undertook every task with a combination of persistence and quiet deliberation. Among his proudest moments: the day he was able to pay his parents back the money he had borrowed to earn his undergraduate degree. In 1957, a good life took a turn for the better when Chuck eyed Judy Diamond across the punch and cookie table at a sorority-fraternity mixer at Northern Illinois University. He was a chemistry major with a talent for drawing others out of their shells. She was an English major with a penchant for literature and socializing. The courtship that followed was filled with long talks over 20-cent beers in smoky bars, fraternity/sorority campus events and a shared love of crossword puzzles. Chuck married Judy in 1961, then completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Purdue University in 1968. The couple set off in a Sunbeam Tiger for the San Francisco Bay Area in pursuit of new adventures and fresh ways of living. From hippies in Golden Gate Park to antiwar protests to new models of the American Dream, nothing was familiar and everything was exhilarating. However, Chuck's Midwestern values survived the cultural revolution. When the first of their four children was born that same year, those values found new opportunity for expression. Chuck found himself joyfully immersed in fatherhood and ready to pass down those values to a new generation of Faltzes. A passionate advocate for the profession of psychology, Chuck served as Chief of Forensic Mental Health Services with the San Mateo County Courts and Corrections, and later as Director of Professional Affairs for the California Psychological Association, a position that would allow him to make his most meaningful professional contributions. He was one of the leaders in the effort to allow psychologists in California to gain access to hospital privileges, worked to gain prescription privileges for psychologists and enhanced the credibility of psychologists in the eyes of public policy makers. He received numerous accolades during his twenty years with the CPA, including the California Psychological Association's Silver Psi award for service, a Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Psychological Association's prestigious Heiser Award for Advocacy and the Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association for his "Herculean efforts" on behalf of psychologists across the country. Countless patients and colleagues over the years ultimately have benefited from his advocacy. It will take a panel of experts to replace him, his font of knowledge, his generosity of time and the singular role he played in the history of the CPA. Chuck leaves behind his wife of 53 years; daughters Dina Kilgo (Scott), Jennifer Garcia (Chris) and Chrissy Ulrey (Bob); son Daniel (Mike Padilla); and grandchildren Kate and Brian Kilgo and Rachel and Karinne Ulrey. He was greatly respected both professionally and personally, and consequently consulted frequently for advice, also both professionally and personally. Chuck was the anchor of his family, and remembered fondly by all who knew him as a man of integrity, compassion, careful reflection, inventive solutions to all kinds of problems, and flashes of rakish innuendo at the holiday dinner table. He will be missed. Visitation Friday Jan 23, 5-8pm, Spangler Mortuaries, 399 S San Antonio Rd, Los Altos, CA; Funeral Mass Saturday, Jan 24, 10am, Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 3233 Cowper St, Palo Alto, CA. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.




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