Faye Aline Houston

Faye Aline Houston was born January 13, 1943 in Durham, North Carolina to Luvean and Russell Houston. She died peacefully at home surrounded by her family on November 16, 2025. Faye was raised by her aunt Evelyn and uncle Alonzo in Springfield, Ohio. They became her parents, and their son, Michael, her brother. It was actually her foster father, Alonzo Moss, who suggested a career as a librarian when Faye was a child because of how much she loved books. She said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that she was 11 when Alonzo said to her, “‘you read all the time, why don’t you [become] a librarian?’ ‘And it went, Click!’ she [said]. ‘That is, if I wasn’t going to be an archeologist or a detective.’” 

The family moved to Baltimore in 1960, while Faye studied English at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Per The Baltimore Sun: “‘It was a very optimistic time. The world belonged to youth and we were it,” she says. ‘And black people were going to be a part of it.’ She studied English but didn’t want to teach. ‘I didn’t know exactly how you got to be an archaeologist, except that you had to go to school for years and years, and I didn’t want to do that,’ she says. And so, as Alonzo Moss had suggested, she became a librarian.” She went on receive her Master Degree in Library Science from Drexel University, and in October 1965, began her career at the Central Library of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. 

She was an active member of the Episcopal church in Baltimore and her first parish was Mount Cavalry. It was there that she would meet her lifelong best friends, Dorris and Ken McElroy. She met her first husband, Episcopal priest, William (Bill) Lowry, while he was at St. Katherine of Alexandria. They were married in April of 1969, and settled in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore City. By this time Bill was an Associate Priest at the Church of the Holy Nativity and Faye was an Assistant Head of Humanities at the library. Her birth mother, Luvean, had also arrived in Baltimore by this time, and was working as a nurse at Sinai Hospital. Faye and Bill welcomed their only son, Michael, in May of 1975 before going their separate ways in 1980. They remained quite close, working together at Holy Nativity. Bill sadly predeceased her in January of 1996. Faye married her second husband, William Fallowfield (who incidentally was also an Episcopal priest) in 1986. They remained married until her death, celebrating 39 years together, October 18th, 2025.

Faye led a very active and full life. She loved film, old radio detective serials, mystery television, like Law and Order, Perry Mason, and Murder She Wrote, all things Brit Box: Broadchurch, Shetland, Vera, Prime Suspect. She was a massive fan of Star Wars, recently admitting (albeit somewhat sheepishly) to seeing the first film 26 times (!!!) in the theater alone in 1977. She would pass that passion onto her son and they were both early members of the Star Wars Fan Club! It didn’t stop there, she was a huge fan of noir and detective films, often quoting Humphrey Bogart’s iconic character Philip Marlowe in the Big Sleep. She loved Alfred Hitchcock’s films, especially Rear Window and Foreign Correspondent. The holidays were marked with the “24 Hours of a Christmas Story” marathon and The Muppet Christmas Carol with Michael Caine. She even began a tradition of watching the entire Lord of the Rings saga (only extended versions) on New Year’s Day with her dear friend Linda Talley, and a few other folks (Faye traditionally made beef bourguignon). They would watch the whole thing while taking copious breaks to eat and drink wine, starting at about 9 am and going until 10 pm. She had a massive library of movies on VHS tapes before that was really a thing (organized by card catalog), and was definitely the first person on the block to own a VCR in the early 80’s. 

She loved art, and music, and loved to sing! She joined the Handel Choir of Baltimore in 1970, and was the second longest serving member in the choirs history, serving 43 years. She attended the choir’s annual December performance of Handel’s Messiah faithfully every year. After her Handel Choir tenure, she continued singing in the Baltimore Labor Chorus. She remained very active in the church her entire life, serving as co-chair of the Diocesan Search Committee, as well as serving on the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for a term. She also served as a member of the advisory board at Holy Nativity for many, many years, and would hold any role that needed filling to help the church maintain its role as a vibrant part of the community, dedicated to outreach, service, and fellowship. She was involved with All God’s Children summer camp for 20+ years, and was an active member of St. Bartholomew’s Women’s Retreats. She and her husband were members of the Joshua Johnson Council at the Baltimore Museum of Art, which is one of “the nations oldest museum support groups devoted to African American and Black Diaspora art” (JJC Facebook page). 

Faye was proud of her 33 years as Assistant Head, and later Chief of Humanities of the Central Library of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. “‘She’s the librarian’s librarian. She’s the model,’ Carla Hayden, then director of the Pratt, told The Baltimore Sun upon her 1999 retirement. “‘She has encyclopedic knowledge of her own subject, and then she has her own life experience, which gives her another depth.’” While she was there, she founded a Central Library Book Club, still going strong almost 40 years later. Now known as the Pratt Page-Turners club, Faye was a steadfast participant. Shaileen Breyer, who now facilitates the book club, wrote Faye “connected with people instantly with her humor and down-to-earth friendliness, and she had a razor sharp talent for talking about books and inspiring discussion with a key question or reading of a passage. Her wide ranging knowledge of books and movies and her deep understanding of history enriched every discussion.” 

After the library, she took part time jobs working at St. Bede’s Books at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, and for a time she worked a couple days a week at the gift shop at the Walters Art Gallery! Retirement also gave her more time to focus on another of her passions: cooking! She became a personal chef for a select group of folks and even helped to teach cooking classes to children at the local Montessori school a couple days a week. She also lent her skills to those helping out the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, heading down south and cooking for hundreds of rescue workers everyday as relief efforts unfolded. She loved cooking big meals for family and friends at the holidays or on special occasions, the more the merrier! All were welcome!! Cooking for people was a way that she could share her joy of living and express herself, and how much love she had to share. It was one of her arts. She lived a wonderful life and travelled extensively, from the grand and beautiful state parks where she would spend summers exploring and camping, to the sandy beaches of Delaware and Holden Beach, North Carolina where she would vacation with her family and her best friends Ken and Dorris and their family! She and Bill travelled all over Europe, Scandinavia and even the Middle East! She took everything the world had to offer with curiosity, love, hopefulness, positivity and then some. 

The Force was strong with her. Faye is survived by her husband William Fallowfield; her son, Michael Lowry and his partner Anna Child, of Baltimore; two stepchildren, Elizabeth DePalma, of Alexandria, VA, and Jonathan Fallowfield and his wife Emily, of Lexington Park; three step grandchildren, Adam DePalma, Anthony DePalma, and Jessica Fallowfield; many godchildren including, Deirdre McElroy, Jamal Gregory, Justin Gregory, Jamel Gregory, Christopher Clark, Sierra Smith, Jeanean Sawyers, Jeanell Miller, Maurita Sawyers, Tashana Sawyers, Roderiques Sawyers Jr., Dominic Scott, Donte Nance, Trina Randall, Lamont Brown, Janet Brown, Candace Clark, Crystal Clark, Shayla Speaks, and Taii Speaks, and many more family and friends who will miss her. Faye was preceded in death by her brother Michael Moss.

 A memorial service and reception with the family will be held on January 10, 2026, at 11:00 am at Cathedral of the Incarnation at 4 E. University Parkway, Baltimore MD. 

All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in Faye’s name to: Church of the Holy Nativity (a mission church) via PayPal or checks may be mailed to: The Church of the Holy Nativity 4238 Pimlico Rd. Baltimore, MD 21215 

All Gods Children Summer Camp Online: Here or checks payable to SLYC, Subject: Faye A. Houston All God’s Children 217 N. Carey St. Baltimore, MD 21223 

Gilchrist Hospice Online: Here, or checks may be mailed to: Gilchrist, Attn: Philanthropy Department 1131 McCormick Road, Suite 350, Hunt Valley, MD 21223 Faye will be interred at Cathedral of the Incarnation at 4 E. University Parkway, Baltimore MD