Hanover, NH – Dr Charles S Faulkner II died at home Monday, September 29, 2025 at the age of 89, surrounded by his family. Charley was born in Brookline, MA and grew up with 6 siblings, various dogs, horses, and other animals. As a young child, he spent considerable time at the family cottage in Stoddard, NH, sometimes sharing the backseat of the family wagon with their donkey, Nina Messina, on the journey up from Brookline. Time in Stoddard proved to be very influential in fostering a lifelong interest and appreciation in hard work and in the forests of NH and a deep and abiding love of the outdoors. Charley carried a small sense of injustice that he was born in 1936 and not 1736 and missed the life of an early settler.
It was also in Stoddard where Charley met the love of his life and wife of over 67 years, Charlotte. Family lore has it that the passenger in his MG was very nearly ejected from the force of the u-turn performed in order to get another glimpse of the vision that was Charlotte strolling down the street.
Charley had the good fortune to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he found a passion for pathology as a specialty. He moved to Hanover in 1969 to join the faculty of Dartmouth Medical School, where he taught thousands of medical students about the many diseases afflicting the human body. He will be forever remembered for the slides he showed at the end of lecture of sea kayaking trips to Ellesmere Island, reminding students that there is more to life than practicing medicine.
Charley was a man of many interests and talents. He collected cars, flew planes, and rode motorcycles. He still has the first car he ever owned, the aforementioned MG, as well as the car he bought while honeymooning in Europe with Charlotte. Charley owned and flew a P-51 Mustang, a WWII fighter plane, that brought him many hours of delight. In 1978, Charles flew his family across the country and up to Point Barrow Alaska in a 6 seater airplane.
Charley believed strongly in giving back to the community and he served on the Hanover Planning Board for 18 years, eventually as chair. He was known as a patient listener who always made an effort to understand the perspectives held by others.
Charley inherited his parent’s love of Highland cattle and he took over the operation of Pitcher Mountain Farm in Stoddard to continue the legacy that they started. His life’s highlights are too long to be listed here but we would be remiss not to mention his love of bow ties, attending the Tunbridge Fair every year with religious fervor, and singing in Dartmouth’s Handel Society for nearly 40 years.
Charley strived to live by the words of the late Dartmouth president John Kemeny, repeated at college commencement: “Mankind is your brother and you are your brother’s keeper”. Charley is survived by his wife, four children, and six grandchildren, all of whom he loved, cherished, and supported.
Calling hours for a celebration of life will be held at the Hanover Inn October 19 from 1:30-3:30.
Visit Legacy.com Page