Carole Anne Fallon's Obituary
Carole Anne Fallon died peacefully on March 20, 2026, in Fort Myers, Florida, with her family by her side.
Carole was born on January 9, 1944 in Glasgow Scotland, the eldest child of Joe and Chrissie Houston. After a few years spent in Chrissie’s mother’s house, which was the custom back then, the young Houstons moved into one of the prefabs built for military families after World War II, and for the rest of her life Carole would speak of her memories of that time and place: the sound of rain on the tin roof; the smell of baking in her mother’s kitchen; listening to radio mysteries on Saturday nights.
Carole was raised in the Catholic Church. She attended Garnethill Sisters of Mercy Convent School, and every day for lunch she returned to her first home, her grandmother’s house, which was just across the street. At 17, she left school to start work in a railroad office, the first of many jobs, which ranged from part-time hotel bartender to telephone switchboard operator. It was at this time that Carole developed her amazing sense of style, dying her long auburn hair jet black and teasing it into a bouffant to set off her thick black eyeliner and white lipstick — later, as a young mother, she’d have a dramatic Cleopatra bob. Carole had blossomed into a funny, fun-loving young woman known for her dazzling smile and long legs.
In 1962, Carole began going out with Michael Fallon, a shy university student she’d known since they were both 11 — his Catholic school was also across the road from the convent. In 1968, she and Michael were married. They moved into a high-rise flat in the New Town of East Kilbride, and Michael completed his PhD while Carole continued to work. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Melanie Jane, in Scotland in 1970, and in 1972 they welcomed their second daughter, Jennifer Ann, in Hayes, Middlesex, England, where they had moved for Michael’s first job.
Thus began a lifetime of travels and adventures. From England, in 1973, the family moved to the United States: first, Houston, Texas, where Carole learned to swim and drive, then a small town outside Chicago where she became deeply involved in her children’s education. Carole was everything from the Art Lady to the PTA newsletter editor to the Easter Bunny — complete with white rabbit costume and egg-carton Styrofoam teeth. Next came Albany, Georgia, where Carole performed in musicals at the local theater, specializing in character roles such as a Russian countess and a sidekick clown in a wild wig. It was also in Albany that Carole went back to school, receiving her associate’s degree in nursing from Albany Junior College and finding her vocation as an R.N. She sang “When You Walk Through a Storm” at her class graduation in her white dress and cap. Soon afterwards, she joined the staff at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.
Carole would identify as a nurse for the rest of her life. In 1985, she had to take a break from that role, however, because the family moved back to England, where she made a charming home in a 17th century cottage in the Hampshire countryside and probably spent more time than she would have liked driving her teenagers through the rolling green hills to their own convent school and many social engagements. Not that Carole was ever without social engagements herself. Wherever she went, she made friends easily, attracting people with her laughter, her stories, her flair for fashion and her gift for listening. During their years in England, she and Michael also loved visiting country pubs, hopping over to Copenhagen for their anniversary and, on one memorable family vacation, renting a gîte in the south of France. But above all, Carole loved being close to her UK family again — especially her younger sister, Christine.
Towards the end of 1986, the family left village life behind and moved to the picturesque market town of Farnham in Surrey. There, Carole became close with a group of women she met in aerobics class, and together they went to The Redgrave Theatre’s stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in full costume. She was also a favorite of Melanie and Jennifer’s friends, her kitchen often full of teenagers who found her entertaining as well as kind.
In 1987, it was back to America for the Fallons and back to nursing for Carole, first as a floor R.N. at Tallahassee Community Hospital and then as hospice nurse in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Aside from being a mother, Carole considered hospice care her greatest calling. She was the founding director of the Compassionate Care Hospice Program at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, and a fierce advocate for end-of-life pain management, educating doctors and dubbing herself “The Morphine Maven.”
Once both girls had left for college, Carole and Michael moved to Philadelphia, where she spent the last few years of her career as a nurse for disabled adults in group home settings. From there, she continued to accompany Michael as his work took them to Toronto, Canada, rural Cambridgeshire in England, Philadelphia once again — and finally to Shanghai, China.
In 2005, Carole and Michael retired to Sanibel Island in Florida, where they created a beautiful sanctuary that became a destination for family and friends from around the world, including students they hosted from China and Spain. They continued to travel far and wide, returning to China to see Beijing and visiting Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nepal (where she stayed at a Buddhist mountaintop monastery), Tunisia (where she rode a camel), Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico, as well as Italy, Spain and France. And at home in Sanibel, Carole once more gathered a circle of friends, this time from her neighborhood, the Santiva Senior Center and the local chapter of the American Heart Association. This last organization was particularly important to her, as she had survived a heart attack at 53.
Despite a series of grueling health challenges, Carole loved to laugh, sing, be silly and dance. She frequently reminded her family that as a young woman she could “kick her own height.” She loved candles and fairy lights and ambiance; she hated overhead lights. She loved making up words and expressions that permanently entered the family lexicon, and she liked that her Confirmation name, Thérèse, was French.
Last, but far from least, Carole adored her American grandson, Leo, and her many nieces, nephews, grandnephews and grandnieces in Scotland and England. She never forgot anyone’s birthday or let a holiday, loss or milestone go unrecognized, but she didn’t need a special occasion to send a card, a letter, or a wee gift.
Carole Anne Thérèse Houston Fallon was a light in the world. We are heartbroken to lose her and she will forever be missed.
Carole is survived by her beloved husband, Michael J. Fallon and daughter Jennifer Fallon and her husband Robert Conk of Fort Myers, Florida; daughter Melanie Fallon, her partner Sally Sasso and their son Leo Sasso-Fallon, all of South Deerfield, Massachusetts; her sister Christine Hutcheson and husband John of Glasgow, Scotland; niece Geraldine Ralph, her husband Tony, and their children Matthew, Christoper and Lucy of Glasgow; nephew Anthony Hutcheson, his wife Jeannot, and their sons Rory, Andrew and Mark of Glasgow; nephew Phillip Ferguson, his wife Laura and their sons Logan and Struan of Glasgow; niece Katherine Burke, her husband Patrick and their sons Torrian and Calean of Haywards Heath, England; niece Orla Fallon and her partner Paul Jamieson of Glasgow; brother-in-law Martin Fallon and his partner Colette Fitzsimmons of Glasgow; brother-in-law Paul Fallon of Edinburgh, Scotland; and sisters-in-law Rachel Fallon of Oxfordshire, England and Gill Watt of Glasgow. She is predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Christina Houston, her brother Ronald Houston, her mother-in-law Mary Fallon, and her brothers-in-law Anthony Fallon and Thomas Ferguson.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 from 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33907.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord, 8121 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33919. A reception to continue the celebration of her life will follow at the Colonial Family Center at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens.
Memorial contributions in Carole's name may be made to the American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.
Arrangements are being handled by Fort Myers Memorial Gardens.
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