James Faimon has no clue how many people he has inspired, his wife says.
“I’m really proud of him,” Bonnie Faimon said before his retirement reception. “He’s my hero.”
Many of the people whose lives were affected by the assistant city attorney came to wish him well Wednesday afternoon during a retirement reception outside the mayor’s office. James Faimon served the city for 40 years.
City Attorney Dana Roper, who has worked with Faimon for 35 of those years, said he is “a good-hearted, decent individual” who proves that “you can accomplish anything you set out to do.”
Faimon, 69, lost part of his hearing and most of his vision in a birth injury that damaged his optic nerve and closed his ear canal. But he has always pursued his interests, including a letter-winning college wrestling career and attending law school.
“To accomplish the things that he has accomplished — truly amazing,” Roper said.
Faimon has applied “good judgment and patience” to “probably one of the absolutely most thankless jobs in the city — dealing with claims and the people who file them, sorting out what may or may not be the city’s fault,” Roper said.
Terri Storer, office manager for the City Attorney’s Office, said she was inspired by Faimon’s strong work ethic, high values system and strong sense of right and wrong.
“He’s used his disability as a strength,” Storer said. “He is one of the most fair-minded, non-judgmental people.”
Friends and co-workers shared stories about Faimon during his reception.
Former City Attorney Bill Austin said after more than 25 years on the job, Faimon finally called in sick to work for a couple of days.
One night, before an office Christmas party, Faimon’s former secretary asked Austin to check on Faimon because she could not reach him, Austin said.
When he came to Faimon’s house, all the lights were out except for his bedroom window, he said. When he looked in, he saw Faimon lying still on the bed.
Austin couldn’t get Faimon’s attention, so he decided to call 911 to ask if an officer in the area could come check on him, he said.
“Well, I waited about three minutes, and half the western world showed up,” Austin said. “They engaged in a full-fledged rescue.” When rescuers couldn’t get through the door, they decided to break the bedroom window, Austin said.
“A firefighter comes in in full gear, and Jim jumps up and says, ‘What the hell’s going on!’” Austin said.
After Austin explained they had been worried about him, “true to form, Jim turned around and said, ‘Clean up the glass,’ and went right back to bed,” Austin said.
While Faimon enjoyed the challenge and competition of his work, he said he was ready to devote more time to some of his many other interests.
Faimon, who helped found the League of Human Dignity, is president of the Optimist Club of Lincoln and a member of the Visually Impaired Lawyers of America. He is active in the Knights of Columbus, the Lincoln Bar Association and the Nebraska Bar Association.
“I hope to be more active in some of those groups into retirement,” he said. “My major activity has been to perform my duties as a lawyer for the city — now I’ll be able to expand that a little more.
“I won’t die of boredom, that’s for sure.”
Webmaster note: The story photo is a caption of Assistant City Attorney James Faimon's hand being guided by his wife, Bonnie, onto a Braille proclamation from the city attorney permitting him to retire after 40 years.
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