(1928-2019)

“Looking back over these fifty-two years of life, I am overwhelmed and awed by the presence of the Lord in every moment, at every turn of the road.”

This was the opening sentence of Sister Ann Romayne Fallon’s St. Catherine letter of September 19, 1980. Her second such letter, on October 1, 1980, expanded on that thought: “The years have brought many experiences — some pleasant and others difficult. All have been a means of growth for me, and I feel my friendship with the Lord has been strengthened through each new opportunity to share in the ministry of His Church.”

Mary Patricia Joan Fallon, who went simply by Joan until entering religious life, was born on August 29, 1928, in Detroit to Joseph and Anne (Gough) Fallon. Both Joseph and Anne were born in Ontario, Canada, he in Norwood and she in Belleville, and met in Detroit. Anne’s family had moved there in the 1920s, and when Joseph, who was a tool and die maker, came to the city looking for work, he lived with a friend who introduced him to Anne.

There was a ten-year difference in their ages, but that “was no obstacle to a wonderful marriage,” Sister Ann Romayne wrote. The couple went on to have five children, Joan being the oldest. Margaret followed five years later; Sister Ann Romayne said in her autobiography that Margaret “always claimed that her parents needed five years to muster up the courage to have another child.” After that came Kathleen, then Gerald, and nine years later Virginia Marie, who died of pneumonia in infancy.