Dr. James Fall, age 100, passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 10, 2023.
Dr. Fall was born to Guy and Verna (Tatman) Fall in rural Fulton County, Indiana. His father was a World War I Army Air Corps veteran. Dr. Fall graduated from Fulton High School in Fulton, Indiana, in 1941. He was president and valedictorian of his senior class. When World War II broke out, he volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps and was trained as a fighter pilot in P-47 Thunderbolts.
In April of 1944, Lt. Fall was assigned to the 366th Fighter Group in England. Two months and twenty-one missions later, on June 10, 1944, Lt. Fall’s P-47 was hit by enemy ground fire. With his plane engulfed in flames, he bailed out, breaking his leg when he hit the ground. He was captured by German troops and endured ten and a half months as a POW, losing half his body weight during his captivity. Lt. Fall was liberated on April 29, 1945.
Returning home, Jim married his high school sweetheart, Ethel Mae Swank, on June 28, 1945. After finishing pre-dental requirements, he enrolled in I.U. School of Dentistry and graduated with a DDS degree in 1950. Jim moved his family to Marion, Indiana, and set up his dental office. He practiced dentistry in Marion for over fifty-one years, until sudden blindness in 2001 forced retirement.
To Jim Fall, devotion to family and country was of paramount importance, and he was very proud of his military service. It is noteworthy that he passed on the seventy-ninth anniversary of his brush with death on June 10, 1944.
Dr. Fall is survived by his devoted wife of nearly seventy-eight years, Ethel Mae (Swank) Fall, and by their three children: Jo Ellen (Fall) Stephens, Marion, IN; James Mark Fall (Elaine), Woodstock, GA; and Janet Lee Fall, Marion, IN.
Mark has their only grandchildren: Gina Nicolle (Fall) Nix (Brian), Acworth, GA; John Mark Fall (Kate), Tampa, FL; and James Robert Fall (Brianne), Smyrna, GA.
Jim has two great-granddaughters, Nicole Laine Pullen and Savannah Leigh Pullen. He also has four great-grandsons, Landon James Fall, Alexander James Fall, Jackson Wyatt Fall, and Cooper Brooks Fall.
Jim is also survived by a sister, June Ann (Fall) Young of Leesburg, VA. Preceding him in death were a sister, Carol Jean (Fall) Hewitt of Logansport, IN, and a brother, Russell Lowell Fall, Florida.
Visitation will take place from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral & Cremation Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN.
Jim’s funeral will begin at 1:00 pm with Rev. Tom Mansbarger officiating. Burial will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery in Mexico, Indiana.
Memorials may be made to Services for the Visually and Hearing Impaired, 2301 S. Adams St., Marion, IN 46953 or to any veterans’ organization.
Memorial may be shared online at www.nswcares.com.
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