Lincoln Faller, age 82, of Ann Arbor died May 5, 2025, in his Taos home after a courageous battle with kidney cancer. Born Jan. 26, 1943, in Queens, New York, to Evelyn Catherine (Stahl) Faller and Lincoln Alexander Faller, both children of immigrants from Central Europe, Lincoln Bruce Faller (he hated the Bruce but his mother considered it classy) was the first person in his family to attend college.

There, he met his wife and companion of 63 years, Dr. Kathleen Coulborn Faller. Thinking it would make renting an apartment together easier, they married Sept. 5, 1964, in New York City. That same year, Lincoln received his B.A. degree from Oberlin College and went to the University of Chicago, receiving his M.A. in 1965 and Ph.D. in 1971.

He joined the University of Michigan’s English Department in 1968, where he rose through the ranks to full professor by 1992, serving as associate dean of undergraduate education and long-range planning (1995-98) and department chair (1999-2002).

Lincoln’s early research concerned the emergence of the novel in the 18th century, focusing on the work of Daniel Defoe. After writing two books on the subject, he spent an exciting year on a Fulbright teaching at the University of Yaoundé in Cameroon (1986-87), where he delighted in the erudition of his colleagues and the tenacity of his students who could often barely afford books. 

In the 1990s, his interests shifted to Native American studies. He conducted archival research on George Bent, the Cheyenne, mixed-heritage intellectual, son of Governor Charles Bent (killed in the 1847 Taos Revolt), who moved back and forth between Native and non-Native societies. Lincoln sought out George Bent’s Cheyenne family and shared copies of the Bent letters with the family. 

His entire career was marked by quiet activism, championing students and colleagues of color and women, perhaps most notably participating in a ceremony to repatriate Indigenous life masks from Harvard’s Peabody Museum to their descendants’ families.

In 2013, Lincoln retired to El Prado, where he and Kathleen enjoyed welcoming houseguests and throwing huge parties. Lincoln loved languages, travel, dancing (poorly), and experiencing new cultures. His avocations included carpentry, riding his BMW motorcycles too fast through mountain passes, and contemplating the Sacred Mountain of Taos Pueblo while drinking his morning coffee.

Lincoln is survived by his beloved wife, Kathleen; his daughter Helen and granddaughter Bernadette; his brother Russell and sister-in-law Claudia; his sister Marian Johnson; the Shanleys, the Maestas, the Bigfoot-Sipes, and other friends who’ve become relatives, his loving Stahl cousins, and his Coulborn, Kohler, and Stevens nieces and nephews, among whom Lincoln’s mischievous wit made him a favorite uncle.

We are extremely grateful for everyone’s support during Lincoln’s final months.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or united24. A memorial is planned for early August 2025 in Taos. For specifics, contact helen.faller@gmail.com.

— Submitted by the Faller family