OBITUARY Ms. Selma Falloon May 1, 1919 – December 1, 2018 Selma Droznin Falloon 1919-2018 Selma Droznin Falloon celebrated her birthday as May 1, 1919. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, the first child of Frieda Warshal Droznin and Isidor Droznin. Her parents both emigrated from western Russia, Isidor in 1912 and Frieda in 1913.
They met in a Settlement House English program on the Lower East Side, and married in 1917. Selma had one sister, Ellen (Emma) Droznin Katron, who predeceased her in 2017. The family moved first to the Bronx in the 1920s to live in the Farband Houses, the first cooperative apartment building in America.
In a reflection of their active political life, it was created for supporters of the socialist labor movement of the time. They moved to Kane, Pennsylvania in 1931, relocating the family business, Olympic Luggage Co., manufacturers of fine leather luggage. Selma was the valedictorian of the Kane High School class of 1936.
She then attended New York University, where she studied biology, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1940. She received a scholarship to continue her studies at NYU, earning a masters degree in biology in 1941. Next, she entered the Cadet Nursing Program at Yale University, earning a Masters in Nursing in 1944.
On graduating, she entered the Army as a lieutenant. She crossed over the floating harbor in Normandy after D-Day, serving as field nurse in the European theater until the end of WWII. There she met Lt.
James Hugh Falloon, Jr. in an Army canteen at an officer’s dance, beginning a long courtship. After the war, she returned to Pittsburgh and worked as a public health nurse in the Hill District, while continuing her studies, this time earning a masters degree in letters from the University of Pittsburgh in 1950. Selma and Jim were married in Washington, DC in 1950.
In 1952 the couple moved to Montgomery County, MD where they raised four children, Tom, Judy, Betsy and Roby. Selma became an active volunteer and leader for the PTA, the March of Dimes, the League of Women Voters, and many other civic organizations. She taught many generations of young parents through her Mother and Baby classes at the local Red Cross.
She and Jim were also leaders of the community Civic Association and active in the civil rights movement, supporting fair housing and the integration of her neighborhood and the local schools. She was a long-time volunteer for the Girl Scouts and a beloved Girl Scout leader, sharing her love of the outdoors with girls for many years. After Jim’’s sudden death in 1969, she returned to work as a public health nurse, eventually retiring at 76.
She particularly loved the time she spent as a Visiting Nurse in Southeast D.C. neighborhoods in the early ’70s. Upon retirement she became a full-time volunteer, eventually concentrating upon her role as a nursing home ombudsman with the Montgomery County Office of the Ombudsman, to which she dedicated herself well into her 90s. She was passionate about protecting the environment and created and tended a lovely backyard garden, warding off deer with vigor and creative potions.
The light of her life in her later years were her grandchildren, Daniel and Peter Helman; Sam and Emma Weinreich; and Nora, Hannah and Max Vogel. She had joy in re-connecting more recently with her granddaughter Sarah Falloon, and kept her grandchildren Ben and Katie Falloon in her heart. She loved her sons-in-law, who competed for her favors and attention with good humor and great spirit: Josh Weinreich, Lee Helman and Jon Vogel.
She welcomed her grandson-in-law, Jared Paul, with open arms. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan DC, Friends of Brookside Gardens, The League of Women Voters Education Fund, or The Bernie Scholarship Awards Program, which provides financial assistance for college or vocational training to local students in need. A memorial service will be held at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD on Monday, December 3, 2018 at 1:00 pm.
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