Lynn Faulkner and his daughter Ashley, 13, with boxes Wendy Faulkner had addressed and planned to send to poor children in the Philippines before the Sept. 11 attacks. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        MASON — The boxes are empty. The hearts are empty. But neither is going to stay that way for very long.

        Lynn Faulkner and his two teen-age daughters have a new calling.

        Mr. Faulkner's wife, Wendy, 47, was in the World Trade Center Sept. 11 when terrorists struck.

        Mrs. Faulkner was the daughter of Christian missionaries. She left a legacy of giving to about 100 impoverished children from the Philippines, Haiti, Jamaica and Africa, and elsewhere.

        She also left boxes she planned to fill with clothes, toys, candy, books and grooming items.

        On her own, without fanfare or any organizational assistance, she for years sent off about two boxes a month through her parents' missionary contacts. Then she eagerly awaited return letters and photos, following her recipients' progress.

Wendy Faulkner

        It was her only pay. Her cost: thousands of dollars over the years, mostly in postage and supplies.

        Her family, strictly support staff until now, vows to not only continue this work, but to expand it as much as possible.

        “It's almost like we were meant to do this,” Mr. Faulkner said. “Maybe we can turn this horrible thing around into something good.”

        For her memorial service Saturday, her family prepared a board of thank-you photos sent to her from recipients.

        “I sat there with Wendy's mother yesterday, and she was saying, "Oh this one's in the Philippines, this one's in Zimbabwe,'” said friend and neighbor Randy Young. “This has been just a devastating loss for everybody.”

TO HELP

Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Faulkner family at 4593 White Blossom Blvd., Mason 45040. Checks should be made out to the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's Foundation.

        Mrs. Faulkner was a vice president for systems at Aon Corp., a risk-management company and insurance brokerage.

        She was born in Japan, where her parents were missionaries from Australia. She was raised for many years in the West Indies, then moved to the United States at age 14 when her father pursued a master's degree in journalism at Syracuse University.

        “Her father was in World War II for Australia, in Japan, and we thought it was always remarkable that a year after the war, he was ministering for people in Japan,” Mr. Faulkner said.

        Her parents, Fred and Lorna Morris, left Mason on Monday for their home in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

        “So Wendy, all her life, had seen these examples of caring and love and God's generosity,” Mr. Faulkner said, “so it was a natural thing to adopt that same attitude.”

        But her effort was so low-key that only the regular workers at the local post office knew what she was doing.

        While the family awaits the legal establishment of the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's Foundation, they are accepting donations to help send more boxes, to more unseen children, in more far-off countries.

        “It all goes to the foundation, not us,” Mr. Faulkner said. “My heart is broken, I can't tell you how empty my life is right now, but there's a glimmer of hope.”
   

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