Faulk family tragedy strengthened bond between mother, son

Even at an early age, Justin Faulk knew exactly what he wanted.
He was barely a teenager when he told his mother that he was going to leave their home in South St. Paul, MN at the first chance he got.
"I told her that if hockey worked out, I was going to leave," Faulk told stlouisblues.com. "I didn't want to play Minnesota high school hockey and just be done. I wanted to try other things. When I was 16, I had two opportunities to go, and I was picking one of them. I wasn't staying home."

Most parents find it difficult to see their children leave home for the first time, and that was certainly true for Faulk's mother, Gail King. Her dad had just passed away, and that same year she had to watch one of her boys move out before he even finished high school. But she also knew there was no stopping Justin from chasing his dreams.
Nor did she want to.
"Our relationship has always been pretty honest and forward," Justin said. "I don't mean to say we were tougher people than most, but me leaving [for Ann Arbor, MI to play with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program] was something we could deal with."

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. When you've had a few difficult life moments before your 10th birthday like Justin did, leaving home to play hockey doesn't seem like all that big of a deal.
Soon after Justin was born, Gail and Justin's dad - Dale - decided to separate. Justin and his older brother, David, spent the majority of their time with their mother and saw their dad just one day during the week and then again every other weekend.
One day, after picking up the boys from school, Gail had to tell her sons that their father had passed away unexpectedly after a massive heart attack at age 37.
"Justin was really close with his dad," Gail said. "So that was really difficult on him and I actually believe that was one of the things that made him so devoted to hockey. It provided an escape for him, it was a happy thing he enjoyed and then he didn't have to think about the loss of his dad."
"We didn't come from money or anything," Justin added. "With my dad passing away, I probably clinged to my mom a little bit more than I would have if things had been different. But when my dad died, she made sure that my brother and I could have a life that wasn't any different from any of the other kids that were around. As I got older and played more hockey, that was an expensive sport, and she did what she had to do."

Gail worked full time for a communications company known as North American Communications back then. "They sold big office phones," Justin recalled. "They had probably hundreds of buttons on them." When Dale passed away, she also got a part-time cleaning job two nights a week to have money to make ends meet.
David played youth hockey in Minnesota, and Justin followed in his footsteps. Their dad had been a big hockey fan, so it seemed only natural that his sons would take an interest in the sport. Because Gail worked two jobs, both of the boys were able to play on youth teams.
But Justin was determined to go farther.
In some ways, Gail caught a break since there were youth hockey teams in every town in Minnesota, so she doesn't have many stories about how she had to get up at 4 a.m. to drive Justin three hours in heavy snow - uphill both ways - to get him to his games. But as Justin's rise in the sport grew, so did the length of their road trips for tournaments.
"I think we had a lot of fun on those trips," Gail recalled. "There was a lot of close time bonding and having conversations. It was fun for me, seeing my child doing something he truly loved. I didn't have to push him. He had such a love for hockey, I never had to tell him to get up and go to practice. He was just there and ready to go…. Obviously (his dedication) was worth it."
After spending time with the U.S. National Under-18 Team, Justin played one season of college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (No. 37 overall) in 2010, and he turned pro after just one season of college hockey when he joined the AHL's Charlotte Checkers in the playoffs in 2011. Before long, he was making his mark with the Hurricanes.
Gail made it to Justin's first NHL game in 2011, and she traveled to St. Louis with David, her daughter-in-law, and her two grandkids soon after Justin was traded to the Blues. She still watches nearly every one of Justin's games from her home in South St. Paul, as does Justin's 87-year-old grandmother.

Gail still works for the same communications company, as she has for 21 years. She worked that cleaning job for 12 years, too, so it's easy to understand where Justin gets his work ethic from.
As the world celebrates International Women's Day on March 8, the Blues are recognizing the many women who work in sports and play sports, in addition to women like Gail, who made sacrifices and held her family together during an incredibly difficult time. Not everyone who endures such personal tragedy at a young age ends up on the right path, but Justin did.
"It's almost difficult to put into words how I feel about him," Gail said, getting a little emotional during her interview by phone. "I mean, he's such a good person. He's good to his family, he's such a hard worker, as I imagine all of those hockey players are. I'm beyond proud of him, and happy. As a parent, it's such a wonderful thing to be able to see your kids live out their dream."
"My mom gave me the childhood that I really wanted, and in a sense, she never really limited me on anything," Justin said. "She allowed me to branch out, do things I wanted to, and taught me how to work hard and what it takes to take care of a family, especially through tough times. I can't thank her enough for that."