This world lost a rock-solid Christian soldier in the person of Faye Dawn Fallon, 94, on Sunday, August 11, 2019 at the Trillium House. She was there under the special care of her family and Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice.
Faye was born on December 3, 1924 in Gwinn to Maurice and Katherine Connor, attended local schools and was a lifelong Gwinn resident. As a young woman, Faye and her beloved sister and best friend Gloria, made their way to Milwaukee where she worked at, among other things, a soda fountain. It was there that she met her future husband, John A. Fallon, II, who was stationed there as a member of the US Navy Shore Patrol. In a classic fairy tale plot, wherein the hero rescues the damsel in distress, they experienced love at first sight and were married a month later. Faye and Gloria, because of their uncommonly close bond and residence in Milwaukee, were good-naturedly, yet unmercifully, chided for more than seventy years, and through earlier this week, as the original Laverne and Shirley. Indeed, they were inseparable for most of their lives.
There are no more than two words in the English language required to characterize Mrs. Fallon: selfless and humble. She was a devout member of the Gwinn United Methodist Church and made certain her children were as well. She also served as a member of the Little Lake American Legion and Gwinn VFW auxiliaries and was a longtime member of RSVP of Marquette County. Along with her husband, she helped establish the UP Chapter of the Michigan Association of Retarded Children and was active in many other volunteer and charitable activities. She would drop what she was doing on a moment’s notice to be helpful to anyone and would be quick to deflect recognition. She wanted to be useful, not acknowledged.
Faye was perhaps best known for her service to people needing transportation from the Gwinn area to Marquette for various medical appointments. She dedicated years of her life to this role and took particular pride in serving as a lifeline for people unable to drive themselves. And she did this pridefully, year-around, through ice, mud and snow. In many ways, this was an element of her larger view of family and her strong and abiding devotion to it.
Mrs. Fallon is survived by the Laverne to her Shirley; Gloria M. Gurlea, her remarkable sister and precious companion; two sons, John A. (Sidney) Fallon, III of Muncie, IN and Jefferey A. (Judina) Fallon of Grove City, OH; two daughters: Kathleen M. Fallon of Negaunee and Billie K. (Jeff) Ladwig of Gwinn; fifteen grandchildren including Brent D. Fallon, Deborah S. Fallon, John A. Fallon, IV, Sean C. Fallon, Jessica L. Horwatt, Allen Robert Belmore, Aaron M. Zoppetti, Faye F. Fallon, Peter J. Fallon, Luke A. Fallon, Elise J. Fallon, Sabrina C. Fallon, Joel A. Fallon, Jude V. Fallon and Mariell T. Fallon; five great grandchildren including Matthew M. Horwatt, Madison R. Horwatt, Brent D. Fallon, II, J. Hadleigh Fallon and Julianna B. Fallon. She also leaves numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and special friends. She was preceded in death by her husband and gallant rescuer John, daughter Pamela Faye Belmore, four sisters and one brother.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at the Gwinn United Methodist Church, with Rev. Ronald Fike officiating. Interment will be in the Gwinn Cemetery. The Fallon family will greet relatives and friends at 9:30 am at the church, and at a luncheon in the church Fellowship Hall immediately following services. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Faye’s memory to the Gwinn United Methodist Church, Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice or Trillium House.
Mrs. Fallon’s memorial page may be viewed at koskeyfuneralhome.com.