If you have read any of the Alabama Gulf Coast newspapers, it’s likely you ran across a column, “Mumblings.”

It was the work of a community journalist, who loved his hometown, his craft and his state.

The column should have given you an insight into the mind of Alabama politician and philanthropist Jimmy Faulkner, who was much more than just a small-town kind of guy.

Faulkner, 91, died in his adopted hometown of Bay Minette Friday.

Above anything else, Faulkner believed higher education should be accessible to all Alabamians. To that extent, he used his political influence to encourage the late Gov. George C. Wallace to develop the state’s two-year college system.

The community college in Bay Minette bears Faulkner’s name.

Similarly, for more than 50 years he promoted and helped lead Alabama Christian College in Montgomery. Faulkner joined the board of directors in 1958. The school grew and eventually acquired Jones Law School.

In 1985, the college changed its name to Faulkner University.

During his lifetime, Faulkner gave through educational and religious organizations, and in so doing helped thousands of residents of Alabama in the process.

All this from a Lamar County native, who went to journalism school and came back home to write about communities.

We all should give so much of ourselves and our gifts.