Maryknoll, NY: Sister Jean Fallon died on March 8, 2025 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 94 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 78 years.
On May 7, 1930, Jean Marie Fallon was born in Seattle, WA to Bertha Hutchinson Fallon and Leo W. Fallon. She had two brothers, Robert and William, who have predeceased her. Her nieces survive her.
From 1943-1947, Sister Jean attended Holy Name Academy High School in Seattle. Shortly after graduating high school, she entered the Maryknoll Sisters on September 6, 1947 from her home parish of St. Joseph in Seattle. She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1950 in Maryknoll, NY and her Final Profession of Vows in Japan in 1953.
Sister was assigned to Japan in 1951, but before she sailed there, she attended the Yale Institute of Far Eastern Languages to study Japanese. At that time, many of the Sisters worked in the pastoral ministry with the Maryknoll Fathers in the Kyoto Diocese. For the next 20 years, moving from parish to parish, teaching catechumens, working with women, youth and children’s groups and participating in various outreach and service organizations in the local area. She lived and worked in the following parishes from 1951-1971: Saiin, Otsu, Takano, Yokkaichi, and Tsu.
Living in the Center House in Matsugasaki, Kyoto, she participated in Regional governance for a few years and attended various Congregational meetings. She was also involved with the Better World Retreat movement, which fostered growth in Christian living in parish communities.
From 1974-1979, Sister devoted herself to World Awareness Education Programs in the northwest of the U.S. Returning to Japan in 1979, she began work with the National Catholic Council of Justice and Peace as part of the Peace Education Section. She also worked on the Philippines Concerns Committee. Jean also cooperated with the National Christian Council’s (NCC) Peace and Nuclear Issues Committee; Association of Major Superiors of Women’s Task Force for Action in Asia (TFA). During these years, Jean collaborated with others in compiling three books about various topics of social concern. She likewise contributed articles about these topics to religious publications in Japan. She wrote poetry that featured meditations on nature and daily experiences. In 1995, she took Scriptural, Ecumenical and Peace Studies at the Tantur Institute in Jerusalem, during her Renewal period.
In 2001, Sister Jean began her work with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns as an Associate Representative of the Maryknoll Sisters NGO at the United Nations. In 2006, she inquired about joining the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). After intensive training, she was sent for monthly terms of service with their Team in Hebron, Palestine for the next several years.
In 2008, Sister was assigned to the Center Rogers Community, Maryknoll, NY. Here she active in the CenterCerns Committee, meeting monthly with the group, alerting Sisters via e-mail and other notices of social issues in the local area and wider world and indicating actions they could take. She attended protest rallies, gave talks at anti-nuclear events and participated in various related conferences. she cooperated with numerous organizations concerned with social issues: PAX CHRISTI Metro (NY); WESPAC Foundation in Westchester; ROAR (Religious Organization Along the River) concerned with the Hudson Valley bioregion; the Dominican Sisters Justice & Peace Promoters group; and BOMA (Briarcliff, Ossining Ministerial Association.)
In 2022, Pax Christi USA designated 20 people as an “Ambassador of Peace” in celebration of their 50th Anniversary. Sister Jean was one of them. In their statement to the public they stated that “Ambassadors of Peace are extraordinary and experienced leaders with the Pax Christi USA community who serve as living embodiments of what it means to live a life rooted in the ‘peace of Christ’. They were chosen for contributions they have made in preaching, teaching and practicing gospel nonviolence peacemaking, anti-racism, reconciliation and justice.”
Funeral Services:
A Vespers Service was held for Sister Jean on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.
A Memorial Mass was held on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.