Esther Fallon

Esther Pearl (Motley) Fallon, 88, of Fort Sumner, NM passed away on July 3, 2023. She was born on May 14, 1935 in Savannah, Oklahoma, to the home of John Thomas Motley and Myrtle Ann (Smith) Motley.

Esther was a graduate of Savannah High School, Eastern A&M Junior College and Southeastern State Teacher’s College in Durant, Oklahoma.

While in high school, she enjoyed sports, especially basketball, and held the high point scoring record for girls’ basketball in the state of Oklahoma for 15 years, from 1953 to 1968. She also played on an AAU team, the Little Dixie Queens, traveling to various cities in Mexico, including Mexico City. She played on the first women’s basketball team at Eastern A&M in Wilburton, Oklahoma. In 1974, Esther received the Jim Thorpe Award, “All Time Greats of Oklahoma”.

Upon high school graduation, she received recruitment letters from the Flying Queens at Wayland Baptist University and from the All-American Red Heads and Hazel Walker’s Arkansas Travelers, professional basketball teams.

Esther moved to Fort Sumner in January 1957 to teach elementary education, where she taught for several years.

She went on a blind date with a New Mexico cowboy and it must have worked out as she married Emmet Fallon on June 10, 1959 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Old Town.

Emmet and Esther and family lived in Jackson, Missouri where Emmet managed Indian Creek Farms. They returned to Fort Sumner in 1970 and purchased a farm on the Pecos River, which remains the family home. Esther continued to teach in the Fort Sumner schools. She also worked at the Fort Sumner Oil Company and Emmet Fallon Real Estate Agency.

Esther enjoyed gardening and was known for creating a beautiful landscape of flowers and plants around her home. She was an avid fan of the Fort Sumner Foxes and Vixens throughout the years. She treasured visits to her grandchildren in Tucson, Arizona and Rock Hill, South Carolina. She was an active member of St. Anthony Catholic Church for 53 years.  

Esther was preceded in death by her parents, six brothers and three sisters. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Emmet Fallon; daughter Tana Lucy and husband Bill of Alto, NM.; son Jim Fallon and wife Chris of Tucson, AZ; son John Fallon, of Fort Sumner; grandchildren, Echo Fallon of Nashville, TN; Ty Fallon of Tucson AZ; Thomas Fallon of Rock Hill, SC; Bailey Fallon of Cape Cod, MA; Blake Lucy of Tampa, FL; Riann Silliman and husband, Clay, and great grandchildren, Shelby and Taylor Silliman of Celina, TX. She is also survived by sister-in-law Mary Ann West, brother-in-law Charlie (Linda) Fallon, and special nieces and nephews Paul Motley, Mildred McClain, Donald Dodgen, Betty Ann Miller, Dorene Regnell, Sherman Ragsdale, Cathy Fikany and Jane Hammond.

The Holy Rosary will be prayed on Tuesday, July 4, at 6:00 p.m. at Chavez Funeral Home, 830 N. Fifth Street, in Fort Sumner. The Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, July 5 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Fort Sumner with Father Sotero Sena and Father Moses Nwankwo officiating. Interment will follow in the Fallon family plot, Fort Sumner Cemetery. Pallbearers will include Steve Gallegos, Tom Drake, Tom Wilton, Knox Cortese, Mike West and Ray Drake.

The family requests contributions in memory of Esther Fallon to the Fort Sumner Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 180, Fort Sumner, New Mexico 88119.

Arrangements are under the direction of Chavez Funeral Home, 830 N. Fifth Street, Fort Sumner, New Mexico. (575) 355-2311