A memorial service for Public Policy Institute Associate Professor Leslie Whittington and her family was held Sept. 17 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Whittington, her husband, Charles Falkenberg and their two children, Zoe and Dana Falkenberg, ages 8 and 3 respectively, were killed Sept. 11 when hijacked American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
Rev. Barbara Wells, co-minister of the Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Springs, conducted the memorial service. A family portrait of Whittington, Falkenberg, both 45, and their children was displayed in front of the altar.
During the 90-minute service colleagues, friends and relatives shared memories of the family, calling them “vibrant spirits who loved life.”
Whittington, on sabbatical for the 2001 academic year, was travelling to Australia as a Visiting Fellow at Australian National University in Canberra.
Public Policy Institute Professor William Gormley referred to Whittington as “one of the most popular teachers ever to teach at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.” Whittington was remembered for her “wise and generous care of students.”
Whittington began teaching at in the University’s Public Policy Institute in 1996, both as visiting associate professor and then as associate professor. She recently finished a two-year term as associate dean of policy studies.
Falkenberg was director of research for ECOlogic Corp., and was remembered as the “conscience of his company.”
Whittington and Falkenberg were characterized as devoted parents who put their children first while sharing responsibility for them. Georgetown graduate student Marcia Mintz said that Whittington would often stop lectures to share a “Zoe story” or a “Dana story.”
Judith Feder, Dean of Policy Studies, said that the children were “very much a part of the [Public Policy Institute] family.”
Before reading from Psalm 31, Donna Morrison, assistant professor of public policy at the institute, said, “It felt special to be Leslie’s friend. I savored it,” and recalled Whittington as “a woman set apart from others by her excellence.”
Speakers at the service included Jean Mitchell, professor of public policy, Alan Berube (GPPI ‘99), Whittington’s research and teaching assistant and Alexander Whittington (SFS ‘03), Leslie Whittington’s half brother.
Whittington was characterized as a “brilliant economist, beloved teacher and a respected colleague.”
“We’re overwhelmed by loss,” Feder said.
