John Falkenberg: A Brilliant Human Being, Beloved Friend, Teacher and Mentor

By Susan Rodriguez, Founding Executive Director, SMART, Inc.

It is with great sorrow and heartbreak that I share the extremely sad news of the passing of John Falkenberg on May 1st 2013.  He was truly a giant among us, a genius and a brilliant human being who was as humble as he was smart.  He never wanted to be in the spotlight and preferred doing the work behind the scenes at SMART and other small non-profits that he helped to build over the years.  Indeed, SMART may never have started or have survived all these years without John and the extraordinary guidance he was able to give to me.  He had a tremendous ability to share the importance of our work with others, whether friends or funders.

Over the years, John was able to touch so many lives and give so much of himself to me, to SMART and to countless others in passionate and compassionate ways. In addition to providing financial and advisory support to SMART, John loved to teach at SMART University and meet the women.  He was a masterful instructor who could break down the most complicated information in an understandable and meaningful way.  He had an uncanny gift to make complicated information accessible and understandable to each person on an individual basis.

John was my dear and beloved special friend, teacher, mentor and advisor, my beautiful angel here on earth. He has left us physically but his legacy and gifts will live on in all of us who had the privilege and honor to know and love him.  While no one can ever fill his shoes, we will remember his teachings and use the tools and knowledge that he painstakingly gave us over the years to move forward and do things that would make him proud.

I will never forget John or what he did for me: I am here today because of him. I have so much more to say about him but knowing how much he disliked attention, I will simply close this with my eternal thanks and gratitude to him and all he has done.

John is survived by his husband Kenneth - the love of his life - and by his remarkable friends and family.