May 24, 1940 - October 14, 2019
Funeral service for CAPT (Retired) Gerald Kent Falin will be 11:30 A.M. Friday, October 18, 2019 in the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel.
Burial with full military honors will follow in Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin.
CAPT (Retired) Gerald Kent Falin, age 79 was born in St. Louis, Missouri May 24, 1940 to parents Helyn (Henry) and O.J. (Jack) Falin.
Gerald was raised in Kansas City, Missouri and attending public schools, graduating from Paseo High School in 1958.
He loved learning and received numerous Bachelor and Master Degrees in Civil Engineering, Hospital Administration, and Sanitation Engineering from several universities including Kansas University and Kansas State University.
Gerald served as a Commissioned Officer of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) two different times, specializing in Indian Health for over 30 combined years.
He was part of a Government Radiation Study in Charleston, West Virginia prior to accepting the position of Field Engineer in Winnebago, Nebraska. Later he was appointed Project Engineer overseeing three Sanitation Facilities Projects for several Indian reservations.
Between 1967 and 1975 Gerald put his PHS career on hold to accept the positions of Public Health Engineer for the State of Nevada, Agent for the Nevada Food and Drug Commission, Public Health Engineer Instructor for the University of Minnesota Health Service and Medical Sciences, Chief of Physical Health Planning for the Michigan Capitol Area Comprehensive Health Planning Association. In Minnesota he co-developed a water purification system that allowed polluted water to be converted to safe, drinkable water.
Gerald returned to the PHS as Supervisory Operations Research Analyst in Rockville, Maryland and later deployed to the Dallas, Texas area to serve as one of eight U.S. Area Directors for Indian Health.
He then accepted the position of Hospital Facilities Engineer in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where he was responsible for overseeing the construction of the Government’s first solar-powered hospitals W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital.
Gerald’s last commission prior to retiring was in Bemidji, Minnesota. He loved snowmobiling and served two terms as President of the Bemidji Snowmobile Club.
His passion for travel took him all over the world having visited all seven Continents. He loved cruising. He and his wife Anne traveled extensively and particularly loved their quiet time and spent five weeks every year on the North Shores of Minnesota.
Gerald moved to Lawton, Oklahoma where he lived until his death Monday, October 14, 2019.
He is survived by his wife Anne Harlow-Falin of the home, his only sister Sharon Freeman of Kansas City, Missouri, his only child, daughter Kelly Ferrara and husband Dan of Raleigh, North Carolina, granddaughters Shelby Ferrara of Raleigh, North Carolina and Hannah Ferrara of Portland, Oregon, step sons Alan H Brown, David H Brown and wife Terrie, Dan Brown and wife Charla, 10 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents Helyn and Jack Falin.
