James "Doc" Casper McFalls

Jim was “one of a kind,” a unique person, who was bright, funny, caring, and generous. We met Jim when we were Freshmen in High School, at South Fayette Township High School in Morgan, PA. Jim was a very good student and athlete, playing Football and Soccer, and earning a Scholarship to Virginia Military Institute (VMI). At VMI, Jim became an All-American football player. Jim wanted to be a Doctor, and he became an OB-GYN. He was loyal to his Family and friends.
Well done, dear friend, and bless your soul,
Jacquelin and Frank Miklavic (Wellesley, MA)

Video

Eulogy

Hi. I’m Scott, Jim’s son. Thank you, everyone that made the time to be present today, especially those of you who came from out of town.
My dad went to daily mass at St. James and I roped off the seat where he always sat. Hopefully he is here and I do his memory justice with these remembrances.
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Whenever I go to funerals I always try to piece together “who is who” in the family. My brother Andrew is here and my sister Bridget is sitting with my mom Susan. My wife Nancy is here with our kids Huey and Nora, and Andrew’s wife Kate is here with their kids Kelley, Keegan, and Corey.
There are members of my family who are not here today. Many of you know we lost my brother Ryan to cancer five years ago, and we lost my brother Brady to a heart attack two years ago.
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At funerals like learning more about the person I’m saying goodbye to. Here are the broad details of Doc’s life. I should probably say “Doc” was my dad’s nickname, given to him by his grandkids.
Doc grew up outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along with his brother Pat, in a working class community. He experienced tough economic times, not just the Great Depression, but also his father broke his neck in a coal mining accident and their house burned down. But when he told stories from his childhood, they were happy stories, mostly centered around his family – his parents and grandparents, Aunt Marg and Aunt Vi, Uncle Gap, and numerous cousins.
My dad told us about a pivotal moment for him back then, when he broke his nose playing high school football. He was a good athlete and probably dreamed of sports as a career. But when he saw how much it cost to treat his injury, he decided to become a doctor.
Of course, it was not just that moment that gave him the drive and dedication to reach that dream. His father, though not very educated himself, stressed the importance of school to his boys. He modeled lifelong learning and a love of reading.
Dad left his coal mining town on a full scholarship to VMI, where he played football and was an All-American tackle. He made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was drafted by the Redskins. His childhood dream of sports fame could have become a reality! But he held firm to his resolve and pursued medical school instead. After receiving his degree from The University of Virginia, he served in the Army as an OBGYN in Okinawa, Japan. During that period he met my mom and they got married, and my sister Bridget’s earliest memories are from the base on Okinawa.
After his tour, my dad worked at Georgetown and Arlington Hospitals, where he delivered thousands of
babies. It was strange growing up, having people come up to my dad in the street, introducing their kids to the man that delivered them. Now that I have kids I understand that feeling of intense gratitude. And incidentally, Dr. Elliot who delivered my kids had been trained by my dad!
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Being a doctor on call at all hours must have been tough. Thinking back to my childhood, my mom was the “boots on the ground” so to speak when it came to shuttling the 5 of us kids around to our various activities, sports, and schools. Not to mention taking care of the friends of ours who made our house their second home, some of whom are here today.
My dad once told me he felt he let my mom down because of what she had to put up with – but I didn’t ask for details and he didn’t offer any. I took it as he appreciated all that my mom did over the years that he couldn’t do while busy working.
He did make sure he took time off each year to vacation with all of us. We visited his family in Pennsylvania and my mom’s family in Cleveland. We spent a week at the beach each summer and went skiing in the winter.
No matter how many years went by, my father has always been protective of my sister Bridget. Worrying, unnecessarily I thought, of the threat that Reston Muggers posed to his adult daughter. (Reston, Virginia, for those from out of town, is a perfectly safe northern Virginia suburb).
My dad often talked about how he missed my brothers Brady and Ryan. As we grew up, my dad called Brady “my best friend in the whole world”, and Ryan inherited my dad’s size, although it was Andrew who played a D1 College sport, basketball. We all knew Ryan also inherited dad’s gift of storytelling and entertaining friends.
Doc thought very highly of his daughters in law, Kate and Nancy, often commenting on how hard they both worked. The favorable comparison probably meant Andrew and I were a little lacking in his mind, but oh well. It’s good to have in laws like you because that’s not always the case.
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After his family, my dad’s friends were the next most important thing to him. He deeply cared for his buddies from his childhood in western Pennsylvania, his classmates and teammates from his college days at VMI and the friends that he made during his medical school days and professional life.
I know this because they were the subjects of so many of his stories, anecdotes, tall tales, truths, and jokes – that he would daisy chain into a long running monologue.
Some of you here today know how important you were to him because he gifted you ties, or a set of candlesticks, or a college sweatshirt. Doc never showed up empty handed and kept the Post Office working hard.
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In recent years, my dad was having trouble walking due to his bad hips, so he started living with my family in an inlaw suite we set up for him. Thanks to my wife Nancy for supporting this.
Living with my dad – as a father myself – was a great experience. I may have finally redeemed myself in his eyes, replacing his memory of me as a teenager, as he saw me mowing the lawn, walking the dog, and doing the household chores he had to yell at me to do in the 1980s. I got the feeling he never understood what I do for work (I’m a software consultant) but he was glad it kept me busy and happy.
My Dad was an avid reader until the end. He had to read at least one newspaper back to back each day. It didn’t matter where we were – he would make sure to pick up a copy of the Washington Post or its closest substitute, even if that meant sliding down icy mountains on ski trips to find one.
Doc’s driving skills did not improve in his 80s. He recently gave up his car keys and the neighborhood became significantly safer for pedestrians.
Doc was not a gourmet. He’d cook hotdogs on a George Foreman for breakfast. He said he did not like sweets, but would buy a family pack of Twizzlers and it wouldn’t last the day.
I’m grateful for my time living with Doc as a housemate. He and I liked to watch sports at night. He was very independent and did his own thing, never wanting to be a burden. He liked seeing the kids play in the yard. Doc made sure he was present for all of his grandkids, and took joy in seeing them grow up. He was a reliable presence on the sidelines of their soccer, basketball, and football games, swim meets, and track meets. He loved to joke around with the kids, give them strange presents at Christmas and Birthdays, and show up in garish, preppy clothes to family gatherings just to get a laugh.
Many of you probably remember some of his outfits. I once heard that your clothing choices indicate the last year you were cool. If that’s true and my dad dressed like Eisenhower on a golf outing, he was last cool in 1961.
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To wrap this up, I’d like to emphasize how hard my dad worked as a student and later as a father and a doctor. He provided security for our family and set an example for the next generation to follow. He could be a tough disciplinarian but in retrospect, he was fair – and a good listener. Just as his own father had, he stressed the importance of education, and made sure that all of us went to college. Which is saying something because in his day, in his hometown, he said the only kids that went to college were the athletes. But his parents made sure their children had better opportunities, and he did the same for us. Our starting point was further along because of his accomplishments.
I have to say: Dad, you did it. You were appreciated, we are grateful, and you will be missed.
Thank you.