Russell Wayne Falconburg

Born 4-23-1957, in Farmington, NM Passed from this life on February 14, 2024, in Springfield, CO at the Southeast Colorado Hospital Survived by Siblings Sister Cheryl Porter (Springfield, CO) Brother Marv (Tracie) Falconburg (Brighton, CO) Sister Edna Neuhold (Vilas, CO) Sister Emily (Collin) Howe (Golden, CO) Sister-in-Law Cathy Falconburg (Tacoma, WA) Long time love of his life Kris Krien (Springfield, CO) Numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and friends Preceded in death by Parents – Don and Dorothy Falconburg Biological father – Calvin Morris Brother Richard Falconburg Brother-in-Law Jeff Porter Sister-in-Law Joanne Falconburg Russell Wayne (Morris) Falconburg was born on April 23, 1957, in Farmington, New Mexico in the San Juan County Hospital to Calvin and Dorothy Morris and welcomed home by his older brother Richard. We remember our mother saying that Russ was almost born on the steps of the hospital, and that he was in a hurry to get here and was always that way and very active as he was growing up. Russell’s father, Calvin, was killed in an auto accident when Russ was only a few months old. Shortly after that, his mother, Dorothy, moved to Wichita, Kansas with her boys to be near her sister Emma Applegate and family. In 1960, Dorothy married Don Falconburg, and they moved with the boys to Wiley, CO In 1961, Russ and brother Richard were adopted by Don, and officially became Falconburgs 3 siblings were added to the family, Cheryl in 1961, Marvin in 1963, and Edna in 1966. Later on he gained another sibling, Emily (Washburn) Howe, when she came to live with Don and Dorothy and became a part of the family. When Russ was growing up, he was always wanting to be outside looking for lizards or snakes, or any other wild animal he would come across. He was also very into the Martial Arts, and when he was a teenager you would see him spend many hours outside with his nun chucks practicing his moves. When he was old enough to hunt and fish and go camping, those were his favorite pass times. When he became an adult, he also loved to cook and was especially a great cook with steaks and seafood. He was a craftsman in his meat cutting abilities and was always learning new techniques. By the end of his meat cutting career, he had over 20 years in the business, and earned the status of Journeyman Meatcutter. He was also an artist, and loved to draw and paint, a talent he inherited from his Mom. The family moved to Newton, Kansas in the early 70’s Russ took odd jobs and worked at Sonic and got good at delivering orders on roller skates. Russ also learned to weld while living in Newton, a trade he later used while in the Navy. The family moved to Wise, VA in the mid 70’s and Russ mowed lawns, bagged groceries, and did other odd jobs. He moved to McClave, Colorado with the family in 1975 and worked several jobs including the feed lot called Beef City near Wiley. Russ went into US Navy on April 8, 1977. He went to Basic Training in Orlando, Florida and went to HT Training in Philadelphia, PA. His home port was Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was a Hull Technician /Fireman Apprentice aboard the USS Cochrane DDG-2. He served three years of active duty and was honorably discharged in April of 1980. He also served 3 years in the Reserves after that. Russ was very proud of his time in the Navy, it was something you could always get him to talk about, even when much of his memory was gone, he could still remember being in the Navy, and where he sailed to during his time of duty, including Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Philippines, and New Caledonia. Russ settled in Lamar, CO after the Navy, and soon met and married Linda Walgren on 2-20-1982. He loved being a stepdad to her 2 boys Joe and John Walgren. However, the marriage did not last, and they were divorced some years later. During his time living in Lamar, he worked at Creagh packing where he began to learn his skill of cutting meat and became very proficient at it. He also worked at Lamar Foods in the meat market, continuing to increase his meat cutting abilities. After the divorce, Russ moved to Gunnison where he enjoyed being able to hunt and fish in the mountains. He worked as a trash truck driver, and a cook at a restaurant there. He moved to Baca County during the mid-1990’s and worked as a farm/ranch hand at the Brooks farm. Russ was a free spirit and liked to move around. He also lived in Oregon, Montana, and Nebraska besides coming back to Colorado several times. At all of these locations he worked as a meat cutter. The last place was at Trader’s Thriftway grocery store in Springfield, CO. Shortly after starting work at Trader’s, he met Kris Krien who became the love of his life until his passing. Russ had longed for a Christian woman to be a part of his life for a very long time, and finding Kris was an answer to his many, many prayers. He was blessed to have her in his life for so long. Russ loved God and came to know him as his personal savior. He had “sowed his wild oats” but he started going to church and became a changed man. We have found many handwritten notebooks in his things full of devotional thoughts and scripture passages that were meaningful to Russ over the years. Sadly, Russ was diagnosed with MS in 2007 while living in Nebraska. His journey in life took a hard turn and robbed him of the life he so desired, but he never gave up his faith in God. On the VA page dedicated to Russ’s memory it asked us that knew him best to create a “word cloud” – Here are some of the words that are used to describe Russ – Outdoorsman – Patriotic – Spiritual – Adventurous – Caring – Friendly – Loyal – Helpful – Curious – NAVY – Affable – Artist – These are just a few of the ways we will remember him. We know that one of his all-time favorite songs is “Why Me Lord” by Khris Kristopherson. The reason he loved this song so much is because it says exactly what Russ felt, here are the lyrics. Why me Lord? What have I ever done To deserve even one Of the pleasure I've known? Tell me, Lord What did I ever do That was worth lovin' you For the kindness you've shown? Lord help me, Jesus I've wasted it so Help me, Jesus I know what I am But now that I know That I needed you so Help me, Jesus My soul's in your hands Try me, Lord If you think there's a way I can try to repay All I've taken from you Maybe, Lord I can show someone else What I've been through myself On my way back to you Lord help me, Jesus I've wasted it so Help me, Jesus I know what I am But now that I know That I've needed you so Help me, Jesus My soul's in your hands Lord help me, Jesus I've wasted it so Help me, Jesus I know what I am But now that I know That I've needed you so Help me, Jesus My soul's in your hands Jesus My soul's in your hands And truly, today, Russ’s soul is in his hands. See you again soon, “Sprouts