Eileen Fallon Coulter

Eileen Johanna Fallon Coulter, who raised a son, inspired generations of family members, and shared a happy marriage of 62 years with the love of her life, died at her home in Vinson Hall, McLean, Virginia, on November 21, 2023. She was 104 years old.

Born in 1919 in West Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, to Patrick James Fallon (originally of Roscommon, Ireland) and Alice (born McMahon, originally of Duagh, Kerry, Ireland), Eileen was the last living of 9 siblings: Mary (Cappie) Pardini, Alice Elizabeth McClain, John (Jack) Fallon, Agnes B. Kratovil, Patrick James Fallon, Regis Joseph Fallon, Richard Gerald Fallon, and Robert Emmet Fallon. After graduating from high school, Eileen moved from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania to the nation’s capital, where she completed finishing school and worked as a secretary. She met her husband, Robert (Bob) Carey Coulter, at work, when he sought her out after reading her file. They married and had a son, Robert Carey Coulter, Jr.

Eileen met the inevitable adversities in life with her abiding Catholic faith, a twinkle in her blue eyes, a strong work ethic, and the support of her family. For example, when Bob became seriously ill and was hospitalized, requiring time in an iron lung, Eileen rented all the rooms in their house save one (in which she lived) got a job, and sent her young son to live with her sister Agnes’s family in Pennsylvania until Bob was well again.

Kind and helpful, Eileen focused on others rather than on herself, even to the end. Having grown up in a large and loving Irish Catholic family, Eileen surrounded herself with her relatives and friends. When she and Bob built their home in Arlington, Virginia, they included an in-law suite with separate entrance, which was filled with a rotating cast of relatives. Bob’s father, Vincil Carey Coulter, lived with them until his death; several nieces, nephews, grandchildren and extended family later lived in the suite while attending local universities or starting new endeavors.

Eileen was predeceased by her beloved husband, Robert C. Coulter and all her siblings. She is survived and will be greatly missed by her son, R. Carey Coulter, Jr. of McLean, Virginia; grandchildren: Patricia Coulter (Todd Schiller) of Smithfield, Rhode Island; Jade Greene (Jason), of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; and Robert C. Coulter III, of Annandale, Virginia; great-grandchildren: Jewel Coulter, William Schiller, Isabella Greene, Gianna Coulter, Alexandra Greene, and Colin Coulter; along with numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, all of whom she adored.

When asked at her 100th birthday party what the secret to longevity is, she replied: “Love everyone and drink a gallon of water a day.” She was all love.

Arrangements are through Murphy Funeral Homes. A Mass in celebration of Eileen’s life, to which friends and family are invited, will be given by the Reverend John Melmer at the Vinson Hall Chapel, 6251 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, Virginia, 22101 on Saturday, December 9th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Burial at 2:30 p.m., Columbia Gardens Cemetery of Arlington. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a memorial donation to a charity of your choosing.