Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Falkiner, Margaret Ruffin Wilkins October 5, 2003
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Robert Woolfitt http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008401 August 8, 2025, 2:01 pm

Durham, NC Herald-Sun October 9, 2003
NORFOLK - Margaret Ruffin Falkiner, of Norfolk, Va., died Sunday, October 5, 
2003, at Duke University Medical Center's Select Specialty Hospital in Durham, 
surrounded by her devoted family and a team of truly superb caregivers.
Mrs. Falkiner was born October 17, 1929, in Rochester, Minn., where her father, 
Willcox Ruffin of Norfolk, was a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. Her mother was 
Margaret Wakefield Ruffin (later Bickford) of Louisville, Kentucky. She spent 
her youth in Norfolk and attended Norfolk public schools, St. Margaret's School 
in Tappahannock, Va., Holton Arms School in Washington, D.C., and Randolph-Macon 
Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va. Mrs. Falkiner is a descendant of Judge Thomas 
Ruffin of Hillsborough, N.C., and a cousin of the late Dr. Julian Meade Ruffin 
who practiced at Duke University Medical Center in Durham.
Margaret Falkiner was a reporter and columnist for The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot 
from 1954 until 1966, when she moved to Melbourne, Australia. She and her 
Australian husband Charles founded The Melbourne Trading Post and several 
associated advertising publications there. Mrs. Falkiner was active in 
environmental conservation in Australia and later in Norfolk. She has 
particularly worked to protect coastal environments. This interest, along with 
her husband's skills as a master mariner, led them to build the Wan Fu, a 
seagoing Junk. The family sailed the Wan Fu from Melbourne to Norfolk in 1977.
From 1983 to 1996 Margaret Falkiner was president of the Virginia Zoological 
Society in Norfolk. During her long and active tenure as president, Mrs. 
Falkiner initiated the education program at the Zoo, helped develop the 
nationally recognized breeding program, and worked tirelessly to develop the 
Zoo's Master Plan, raising 30 million dollars for construction of new exhibits. 
Her most recent project was the proposed Butterfly and Orchid Exhibit. In 
Margaret Falkiner's time of service, the Virginia Zoo evolved from a small 
animal park to a full-fledged zoo.
Margaret Ruffin Falkiner was a woman of vision and purpose, with a boundless 
love of her family, humanity, and the animal kingdom. She directed her own 
projects with high energy and total commitment, and also supported numerous 
other civic, cultural, and political organizations. Her life was characterized 
by a generosity of spirit and a constant concern for the well-being of all those 
around her. She especially loved children and was a devoted mother, grandmother 
and aunt.
Margaret Falkiner is survived by her husband of 36 years, Charles Leslie 
Falkiner of Norfolk; three daughters, Sarah Gay Wilkins and husband Marston E. 
Youngblood Jr. of Chapel Hill, N.C., Elizabeth Wakefield Wilkins and husband 
Jacques van Montfrans of Yorktown, Va., Katherine Taylor Bowen-Wilkins and 
husband Brad of Melbourne, Australia; two sons, John Guy Wilkins and wife, Sue 
of Melbourne and Charles Ruffin Falkiner and wife, Kate of Cary, N.C.; two 
stepdaughters, Gillian Falkiner Cady and husband Fred of Norfolk, and Leslie 
Anne Falkiner-Rose and husband Peter of Melbourne; nine grandchildren, Mati and 
Max Bowen-Wilkins, Schuyler and Clare van Montfrans, Katherine and Nicholas 
Wilkins, Alexander and Elizabeth Cady, and Zara Falkiner-Rose.
She is also survived by two brothers, Dr. Willcox Ruffin and wife, Anne of 
Norfolk, and James V. Bickford and wife Blair of Norfolk; and seven nephews.
A private family burial service will take place Friday, October 17, 2003. For 
all who would like to remember and celebrate her extraordinary life, a public 
memorial service for Margaret Falkiner will be held Saturday, October 18, 2003, 
at 1 p.m. under the main tent at the Virginia Zoological Park, 3400 Granby St., 
Norfolk. The Reverend Donald P. Roberts of Raleigh will conduct the services.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Duke University's Pulmonary 
Rehabilitation Program at The Center for Living, Durham, N.C., or to the future 
Butterfly and Orchid Exhibit at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, Va.

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