James Falvey, 85
POWNAL, Vt. — In June 1931, John Falvey married Peggy Bump. They immediately started having children. March 1932: Margret. July 1933: John Junior. March 1935: twins, James Francis and Helen. In the hurricane of September ’38, James Francis drowned. On August 21, 1939, James Michael replaced him. His younger sister Mary was born in March 1947, and brother William in December 1948.
Thus began the life of James Michael Falvey. He spent an uneventful childhood in Pownal, Vermont, hunting, fishing and generally being a kid. He was his father’s favorite.
He graduated high school in 1957 and started college at Williams the following fall. In 1959, he dropped out and joined the army, serving for two years in Alabama and Georgia. Following service, he returned to Williams College, where he earned a degree in economics. After graduating, he spent two and a half years in Connecticut, working for the Hartford Electric Light Company.
He married Mary Christine O’Connor in 1962 (they separated in 1970). The couple had their first daughter, Jes (Jessica) in 1963, who taught him the beauty of fatherhood; it was his favorite role in life. In 1966, the couple moved to E. Lansing, MI to attend graduate school. Their second daughter, Megan, was born in 1967.
James completed his PhD in economics in 1973, and then moved to Helena, Montana, to take a job with the Department of Natural Resources (Montana), working on the evaluation of the Coal Strip power plant. It was a job he hadn’t planned on taking, but during his trip for the interview, he met and fell in love with Montana.
In 1976, he moved back East to teach economics, first at Hamilton College, and then at SUNY Plattsburg, where he met Cathy Mueller, whom he married in 1979 (they separated in 2014). They had 2 children together: Michael (born 1981) who died shortly after birth; and Sarah, who was born in 1982 (thus making him the proud father of three girls!).
In 1980, he was hired by the Montana Power Company, and relocated to Butte, Montana, where he lived for the next 43 years. Butte was his adopted and beloved home town. After he retired from the Power Company, he taught economics at University of Montana Western, making the daily drive from Butte to Dillon and back for 10 years before retiring for good in 2014.
During the last year and a half of his life, he lived in Bozeman, Montana, to be close to family.
He is survived by his sister, Mary and his brother, Billy; his three daughters, Jes, Megan and Sarah; his two grandchildren: Niko Hinz and Helen Falvey Hinz; and both of his ex-wives.