Obituary of Christine Ann (Brown) Fahlman Healy

HUDSON - Christine Ann (Brown) Fahlman Healy of Hudson passed away surrounded by loved ones on September 28, 2021. Tina was born on June 19, 1953, in Cleveland, OH. Her mother, Margaret Komp Brown and father, Edward Southard Brown, met and graduated from Oberlin College in 1939. While Margaret cut crystals at Harshaw Chemical in Cleveland during WWII and later became an award-winning orchid judge and grower, Edward graduated from Yale Medical School in 1943 and was subsequently stationed as a surgeon in the Philippines, where he also volunteered his time providing medical care in a nearby orphanage. After the war, Edward became chief of surgery at St Luke’s Hospital, and the couple bought a home in Sagamore Hills. My grandparents were some of The Greatest Generation’s most extraordinary people, and they instilled a deep sense of family that stayed with mom and her three siblings, Robert, Edward Jr., and Margaret, her entire life. Tina graduated from Kenyon College in 1975 with a BA in Art and was a phenomenal watercolorist and portrait artist. On the same day she graduated from Kenyon, she married my father, Chris Fahlman. They were married for thirty-one years. In 1977, my mom earned a dual certification in art and English from Notre Dame College, which she utilized teaching in the Nordonia Hills City School District for 32 years. Her favorite unit to teach was Edgar Allen Poe, which she skillfully timed around Halloween. Using her artistic ability, students would arrive in her classroom, mesmerized by the life-sized raven mural drawn free-hand on her chalkboard. Students would then be read “The Raven” by Vincent Price on a record player. Mom was an innovative educator with rock-solid foundational skills whose students knew she cared each and every day. Plus, she could diagram a sentence like no one has ever seen. As a child, waking up on Saturday mornings, I would hear mom playing the piano accompanied by the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. A friend wrote to me of mom that “she had the awareness to be cool and authoritative simultaneously, to see straight into people’s core, their intentions and character.” Part of her magic is that mom possessed the wisdom to take the comings and goings of life in stride and to demonstrate unconditional love-- an invaluable trait that she passed on to her grandchildren and therefore will not be lost to time. Not a day went by in which she was not involved in her grandchildren’s lives. Milena, Cecilia, and Andrew knew that a day with their “Emmy” meant a day of pure joy. On April 11, 2009, mom married Patrick Healy in a beautiful ceremony at Lake Forest Country Club. Mom and Patrick first met at Kenyon College in 1972. Their natural affection for one another was palpable to anyone in their presence. In his wedding speech, Patrick said, “Tina’s love for her family and the devotion that she shows to the generations of her students has truly been an inspiration to me. In the words of Sherlock Holmes, ‘She is a most remarkable woman; a rare combination of beauty, intelligence, thoughtfulness and wit.’ Every day we spend together has its own special enchantment.” Even when the world began swirling around her as illness ensued, mom’s unwavering focus was the love of her family and protecting those whom she loved as long as she could. In the words of my oldest daughter, Milena, “Emmy was mind-bogglingly strong.” Mom is preceded in death by her parents, Margaret and Edward Brown, her sister, Margaret Louise Knepper, and her brother, Edward Southard Brown Jr. She is survived by her husband, Patrick Healy, her brother, Rob Brown (Priscilla), her grandchildren, Milena de Avila, Cecilia Karnoupakis, Andrew Karnoupakis and by me, her daughter, Katie Karnoupakis (Evan). In lieu of flowers, gifts in the name of Christine Healy may be made to Kenyon College's General Fund. Gifts can be made via: • Checks may be sent to the Office of Development, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022. o Include “In Memory of Christine Brown Healy” on the memo line • Online gifts can be made at, gift.kenyon.edu o Add Christine Brown Healy in the field labeled "In Honor of / In Memory of"