James Lorn Faubion Jr.

November 3, 1931 – June 13, 2026

James Lorn Faubion Jr. 94, (JL, Jim) passed quietly away at home in Granbury, Texas surrounded by his family. He was born at Valley Mills, Texas in 1931, to Lorn Sr. & Lura (Powers) Faubion. They, along with his grandparents, were strong, independent & loving, which greatly influenced his character to become an honest, compassionate & dependable husband, father, grandfather & friend.

JL attended Valley Mills ISD, graduating in 1949. He was close with his 2 brothers, & even brought tiny little sister to school for “Show & Tell”. As a youth he enjoyed seeing the trainer aircraft that were stationed at our local Valley Mills Airport during WW2. It was there his lifetime passion for flight began. After high school, JL enrolled at Texas A&M university, graduating in 1953. In those days, Texas A&M was a military school, which prepared him for service in the army, where he eventually rose to the level of Captain. Upon completing college he took his first flight, went into the Military & along with a friend, bought a Aeronca Champ single engine airplane. He then took lessons & was an avid pilot from there on. Jim was an “Aggie” to the core, & if the A&M football team was winning, he was having a great day - Gig’em!

While stationed at Avon Park, Florida, Jim met & married Jan, in 1958. She also shared a love for traveling & adventure. To this union were born 3 children, Mitch, Mike & Karen. After serving 6 years of active duty, he returned to graduate school, majoring in agronomy, with a focus on turf grass management. Soon after grad school he was hired by Robert Deadman to work on his golf course (Brookhaven) as an assistant superintendent. He grew along with the company, that in time became Club Corp, which was the largest club corporation in the world. He was president of the Club Consulting Group division. A lot of his work involved world wide travel to the Orient, Europe, Australia & even Russia. He moved among celebrities & other influential people with ease, & conducted business where everyone wins, always maintaining a positive attitude & made a lot of friends along the way.

In late 1957, Jim had a silver Luscombe airplane. He & his dad Lorn, were landing & taking off in the field that runs along FM 217 & HWY 6. As they were taking off once again & just becoming airborne near the present viaduct over the railway, when there was a sudden downdraft, which caused the plane to stall, therefore nosediving it into the rich black Texas soil, in the corner of the field. The smoking engine had been shoved up into the cabin. As the gasoline was dripping from the ruptured wing tanks, Lorn inquired: “What do we do now son? —“ Jim answered with: “BAIL OUT !!!”. With that prompting, Lorn literally mule kicked the one door completely off its hinges & out into the field. They then jumped down & simply walked away! On the short drive back toward Searsville, his Dad Lorn advised: “We’d better not tell your mother anything about this - It’ll upset her real bad!… No sooner than Lorn got inside the house, he proclaimed: “YOU ain’t gonna BELIEVE THIS! Your SON nearly KILLED US in that AIRPLANE!!! In the end, the sad final remains of the poor little ol’ Luscombe, was hauled off in the back of a pick-up…

Jim enjoyed the book “Johnathan Livingston Seagull”, by Richard Bach. He often quoted the part where: “The gull sees farthest who flies highest”. This would be an accurate portrayal of about how he had conducted his life —

James Lorn Faubion Jr. is preceded in death by his parents Lorn & Lura Faubion. A brother Charles Edward Faubion (Button) and a brother-in-law John E. Robinson.

He is survived by his wife, Jan Faubion. Children: Mitch Faubion, Mike Faubion & Karen Restivo. Grandchildren: James Bentley, Julia Restivo & Loryn Restivo. A sister, Lou Faubion Robinson. A brother, Terry Faubion. A sister-in-law, Sandy Faubion.

Graveside services will be held at 1 P.M. Friday, June 19, 2026, at the Valley Mills Cemetery under the direction of Foss Funeral Home & Cremation Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to the Valley Mills Cemetery Association or the Valley Mills Volunteer Fire Department.

Please join us in remembering Jim by signing our guestbook at

fossfunealhome.com