William J. Fallon

William John Fallon, a longtime resident of Weston, MA, died of natural causes on September 1, 2024. Surrounded in his final hours by his four loving children, he passed away peacefully in Pittsburgh, PA. His family mourns the loss of his strength, decency, and graciousness.
The eldest son of Joseph Fallon and Thelma (Madden) Fallon, Bill was born in Philadelphia in 1931, grew up in Havertown, PA, and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He graduated with a BS in 1953, and after serving in Korea from 1953 to 1955, he returned to Penn's Wharton School, where he earned an MBA in 1957.
In the New York area, he met and married his adored and adoring wife of 57 years, Catherine (Rock) Fallon, who predeceased him in 2017. Relocating to the Boston area in 1965, Cathy and Bill raised their four children, Jim (Mary Alynn), Lee (Michael), Paul (Hannah), and Robert (Stephanie), and later took pride in their seven grandchildren, Jessica, Julie, Yanni, Gabriel, Madeleine, Azarias, and Lydia.
Admired for his wit, intelligence, generosity, amiability, and wicked puns by those who knew him, Bill pioneered business computing in his professional life. He first engaged in computer programming in the 1950s with Penn Mutual Life Insurance, NCR, and later, Wang Laboratories. In 1981 he founded and led Beacon Business Systems, a software company that automated school administration, scheduling, attendance, and grade reporting.
His passion for America's favorite pastime never ceased; as a young man he briefly played third base for the farm team of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team and he died with his baseball glove at his side. He closely followed the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots for nearly 60 years. In the 1970s and '80s, he also directed and acted in numerous productions of community theater throughout the suburbs west of Boston. He served for years on behalf of Weston's Friends of the Council on Aging and actively engaged in local Catholic organizations. In 2002, he became a founding member of Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), a reform movement responding to the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal that had been exposed in Weston and Boston. In 2003, he organized the first national conference of VOTF. Bill moved to Pittsburgh in 2021 to be closer to family. In his senior community, he quickly earned a reputation for his sweet tooth, dapper wardrobe, love of cats, and gentle tenor voice. He enjoyed poetry, the American Songbook, and classical music, awakening each morning to the Brahms Violin Concerto.
A funeral service will take place at 10:00 a.m. on September 26, 2024, at St. Julia's Catholic Church in Weston, MA. Following the service will be a private burial, reuniting Bill with his wife Cathy on what would be their 65th wedding anniversary. In lieu of flowers, his family encourages donations be made to a local animal shelter or elder care organization.
Professional services entrusted to Smith Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd; 930 Center Avenue Blawnox, PA, 15238; www.thomasmsmithfuneralhome.com.