Deacon William Fallon, active in parish and prison ministry, dies at 82

Deacon William “Bill” Fallon, a deacon in the Archdiocese of Baltimore for nearly 40 years, died March 7 at St. Elizabeth’s Nursing Center in Baltimore. He was 82.

Ordained a deacon Sept. 29, 1984, he served at his family’s home parish of St. Michael, Poplar Springs, in Mount Airy, until 1999. He also served at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Woodstock; St. John, Westminster; Church of the Resurrection, Ellicott City; and in his later years at St. Elizabeth’s Nursing Center.

Deacon Fallon and his late wife Mary Margaret had six children. Elizabeth Sandersen, their only daughter, said that her father was ordained when she was 5 years old.

“My father grew up very poor in southeast Washington, D.C., and he ended up joining the seminary in D.C.,” said Sandersen. “He went there until his senior year when he transferred to Gonzaga College High School. He always wanted to do God’s will from an early age. But he also wanted to pursue marriage and football.”

Deacon Fallon earned his undergraduate degree in business administration and accounting from Georgetown University and his degree in law from Catholic University. He was a trial attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. According to Sandersen, Deacon Fallon did a lot of pro bono legal work for parents with children who had special needs. He also served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

“He was a righteous man, and that encapsulated everything he did,” she said. “He was not just ethical, he was moral.”

At Church of the Resurrection, Deacon Fallon helped with novenas and Stations of the Cross and assisted at Mass.

“He was a kind man with an Irish sense of humor, and he was very intelligent,” said Deacon Skip Comegna, a fellow deacon at Resurrection. “He was a holy man who loved his family.”

Deacon Fallon was an avid Washington Commanders fan, and he loved games such as Scrabble and Jeopardy!. He was also a part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Prison Ministry and spent many years visiting and praying with the prisoners at Jessup Correctional Institution.

“Most people don’t want anything to do with prison,” said Deacon Seigfried Presberry, coordinator of prison ministries. “But Deacon Fallon said he couldn’t think of anything better than to give up his time to those who were incarcerated.”

Deacon Fallon moved to St. Elizabeth’s Nursing Center in 2018, where he continued serving by reading the Gospel at Mass on Sundays and Tuesdays in the chapel.

“The first time I heard him proclaim the Gospel, I was quite astounded,” said Father Raymond Chase, chaplain at St. Elizabeth’s and pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Baltimore. “He did it with such a sense of importance of what he was saying. I knew the words were very meaningful to him.”

Father Chase said that if there were residents who had any difficulties, Deacon Fallon – whom he called “Billy Boy” – would reach out and talk to them with genuine compassion.

“He had a wonderful smile, and he touched us all,” he said.

“He was the best listener ever,” Sandersen said. “He was always available to me every day up until the day he died. He was like that with everyone – his family, his parishioners and his clients.”

A memorial Mass will be held at St. Michael, Poplar Springs (1125 St. Michael’s Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771) April 11 at 11 a.m. 

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