BROOKHAVEN — Michael Falvey died Saturday in a motorcycle wreck near the intersection of Hwy. 550 and Dunn Ratcliff Road. He was a husband, father, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Brookhaven, HVAC instructor at Co-Lin Community College and a new business owner. 

Falvey’s obituary said he was born in 1972 and graduated from Brookhaven Academy in 1991. After graduation, he went to Ricks College, in Rexburg, Idaho, for a semester before serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the California Anaheim mission. He moved home after his mission and lived in Brookhaven where he later met his wife, Brandee.

Michael and Brandee were wed in 1996 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They had two children Mason and Madison Falvey. 

The Co-Lin family

Steven Esch, the Diesel Equipment Technology Instructor at Co-Lin, said he first met Falvey when he started working at Co-Lin 13 years ago. They led SkillsUSA together where high school classes would come to the campus. Esch said they did carpentry together. 

“He was a good guy. I didn’t know him too well at first but he helped me a good bit when I started teaching by myself in my second year,” Esch said. “I had some issues and he helped me. We did our classes the same and had our handbook the same way. We just worked well together.” 

Blake Oberschmidt, a Automotive Technology Instructor at Co-Lin, said he came to Co-Lin 12 years ago and met Falvey. He had a similar experience to Esch getting started as an instructor at Co-Lin. 

“I was kindly welcomed by many employees there at the school and one of them was Michael. He was quick to introduce himself and start a conversation,” Oberschmidt said. “We became friends and would frequently talk about things or call on each other for help with our skill sets. Michael was known to help so many people in various ways and I am grateful to have known him. He will be missed.” 

Esch said if he had a problem or question he would turn to Falvey for guidance and Falvey would go to Esch for help too. Falvey loved his family and spoke about his wife, daughter and son all the time, Esch said. 

Esch said he lives in McComb and he did not spend much time with Falvey outside of work. He said if he lived in Brookhaven then he would have likely spent more time with Falvey. They shared several things in common. 

Falvey and Esch rode motorcycles and had children who had started to leave the nest and go on to college. Their daughters are the same age. 

“We shared experiences and struggles together and we just clicked,” Esch said

A new business

Falvey usually had a good story to tell and oftentimes it was about camping trips with Boy Scouts. One of the last things they talked about was Falvey’s plans to open a custom soda shop in Brookhaven called Sipps, Esch said.

“He was a good person and I’ll miss him. He was still teaching and I believe this would have been his 20th year. He spoke about retirement and wanting to spend more time with family,” Esch said. “He loved his family. That is one thing I can say without a doubt. He loved his work family too.” 

Falvey told The Daily Leader in July he hoped to open Sipps in September along with co-owners Adam Smith, Pam Smith, Brandee Falvey.