Dr. Robert Duncan Fallon Jr., 87, passed away peacefully on May 20, surrounded by his devoted family at the home of his son Rob and Rob’s wife Tory, where he had been living since last summer.
Bob was born in 1937 to parents Robert and Elinor Fallon who raised Bob and his brother Peter in Marblehead. A respected physician and father of four, Dr. Fallon was an internist based out of Marblehead and Salem hospitals. Over the course of his 47-year medical career, he was a trusted family doctor and friend to generations of North Shore residents.
Young Fallon spent his freshman and sophomore years at Marblehead High, then his junior and senior years at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he graduated in 1955. He attended Harvard University, where he played football and lacrosse and majored in English and pre-med, graduating in 1959. Fallon attended Tufts Medical School, graduating as a doctor of medicine in 1963, then completed his internship at Salem Hospital in 1964. In July 1964, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a captain at Two Rock Ranch Station in California for two years.
Returning to New England after the Army, Fallon’s medical residency spanned three years at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where the young family, with daughters Kate and Deb, enjoyed living in the country. Moving back home in 1969, as he began his medical practice in Marblehead, Fallon and Bonnie welcomed their son Robert D. Fallon III to the family. Shortly after their youngest son John arrived in 1971, the family moved to Ridge Road, where they stayed until the kids were grown in the 1990s.
Fallon was a long-standing member of the Church of the Holy Name in Swampscott, where his family had their roots, serving as a vestryman and usher for many years. The family was raised and confirmed in the church and the kids sang in the choir and served as acolytes.
As the son of a World War II Navy man, Fallon learned his love of the ocean from his father, finding a worthy challenge at the helm of sailing vessels. He raced on the waters off Marblehead, from the Townie class in his youth, to the 210, IOD and Shields fleets in later years. With his son Rob, he finished his racing days in a Rhodes 19 in the early 2000s. Fallon paddled the rivers and hiked up the mountains of New England with his wife, kids and the family dogs on many a blustery fall day. An avid sports fan, he was always at his kids’ games and loved to attend the annual Harvard/Yale game at Harvard stadium.
Since the early 1980s, Fallon enjoyed spending time at the family property in Brookfield, Vermont, where a walk through the trails and quiet time with a good book were favorite pastimes. Masterful in his ability to find four-leafed clovers in fields of grass, he could recite Hamlet from memory and drop a joke at the perfect moment. He was a good-natured man of honor whose abiding respect, patience and dignity will be remembered.
Dr. Robert D. Fallon Jr., predeceased by his beloved brother Peter, is survived by his wife, Bonnie; his daughters, Kate and Deb; his sons, Rob and John; three nephews; two nieces; seven grandchildren; and many extended family members.
A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Holy Name in Swampscott at 11 a.m. on June 21.
