Ned Fallon, a five-year resident of Monroe and a 62-year resident of Chester, passed away recently after a short illness.
Ned was born in New York City (NYC) a few minutes after his twin brother, Raymond. His arrival was a complete surprise to his parents Edward and Josephine as they were anticipating a single baby.
Ned graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and Fordham University’s School of Pharmacy. He spent the majority of his career as a Retail Pharmacist and was co-owner, with his brother Raymond, of Fallon Pharmacy in Highland Falls, NY for over 20 years. He retired at age 70 after another 25 years of working at Yorktown Pharmacy in Yorktown Heights, NY.
Ned met his beloved wife of over 67 years, Barbara, at a church dance in NYC. They had a two year courtship, were married, and lived in NYC for another two years before moving to Orange County with their first-born where they lived, loved, expanded, and raised their family in the Chester house that Ned built himself with help from his father and brother.
Well ahead of the running boom of the 1970’s, Ned first began running on his High School Cross Country and Track teams in the late 1940’s and during college he even tried out for an Olympic athlete search committee. For most of his adult life he trained for marathons and other long races with a disciplined commitment to putting in the miles on roads, tracks, and woodland trails. Ned competed in his first Boston Marathon in 1956 when competitors numbered in the hundreds. He also competed in one of the very first NYC marathons in the early 1970’s where competition numbers also were small and the route was multiple laps through Central Park. Ned enjoyed being a part of the early close-knit community of runners who competed in marathons. He chose many of his other races to coincide with visits to his children spread throughout the country. In later years when knee problems brought an end to his running Ned accepted it with grace, but he didn’t give up on sports. He simply switched to cross-country skiing and long-distance bicycle riding competing in four 100-mile Seagull Century bike rides – his last at age 74.
Ned loved to read – just about anything – and became famous for his response to the call for dinner – “OK, just let me finish this chapter please.” He was an avid reader of “Sports Illustrated” magazine since its initial publication in 1954. He especially liked to encourage and cheer on women athletes and share his joy of watching the Olympics with his children.
Ned was always a firm believer that his daughters and all women could do anything his sons could do in all endeavors – academics, sports, hobbies, and professions – and encouraged them to do so.
Ned gave back to his community. He was a driver for the Monroe Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was an Orange County High School football official. He spent quite a number of years in his 60’s and 70’s as a trainer and Assistant State Coordinator for the AARP Driver Safety Program. Ned was for many years a Lector at St Columba Church during his 62 year membership in the parish. He was also a long-time singer in the Orange County Classic Choral Society.
Ned is survived by his wife, Barbara, and his six children and their spouses & partners: Edward Jr “Ted” (Mardi), Tim (Lisa), Regina (Andrés), Teresa, Ray (Steven), and Rosemary (Manny). He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Matthew, Amy (Dale), Meagan (Ryan), Andrew, Emily (Alec), Adam, Christopher (Danielle), and Julianne (Brian); and five great-grandchildren: Miles, Ruby, Vincent, Jackson, and Hannah; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; Barbara’s brothers and their wives; and his cousin, Antoinette.
Ned was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Barbara; his twin brother, Raymond; his sisters-in-law, Catherine and Jennie; and his niece, Arlene.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation in memory of Ned to either: WAMC Public Radio (https://www.wamc.org/), Monroe Free Library ( https://www.monroefreelibrary.org/), or St. Columba Parish ( https://stcolumbachester.com/).
Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 11, 2023, 2-4 p.m., at Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers, 139 Stage Road, Monroe, NY 10950.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, June 12, 2023, 11 a.m., at St. Columba R.C. Church, 29 High St., Chester, NY 10918.
Burial will follow at St Columba Parish Cemetery, 3335 NY-94, Chester, NY 10918.
Funeral arrangements have been placed with Thomas & Brendan Flynn and the staff of Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers, 139 Stage Road, Monroe, NY 10950.
For additional information or to send an online condolence note to the family, please visit: www.flynnfh.com.