Nora Folan, 86, 'Treated Everyone Equally'

Nora Folan, 86, a resident of Easton for the past 49 years, died peacefully of natural causes Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, at Life Care Center of West Bridgewater, with her devoted family by her side. She was the wife of the late Patrick J. Folan.

Born Nov. 22, 1927, at home on a farm overlooking the ocean in Inverin, County Galway Bay, Ireland, she was the daughter of the late Coleman and Nora Folan and was named after her mother.

Nora grew up on her parents farm and lived in a small stone house with a yellow thatched straw roof. The farm had no running water nor did it have any electricity but Nora and her family made the best of it. Nora had three sisters, one of which was named Mary whom was the oldest and played a huge role in Nora's life. Nora loved her village and the beautiful land around it along with the great people.

But Nora knew there was something else out there in the world and knew she could make a better living for herself and was ready to seek a new adventure. She broke the news to her family that she was going to be joining her sister Mary in England. Nora left Ireland by boat at the age of 16 after saving enough money to leave by obtaining her first job at a toy factory. Upon arriving in England she was greeted by her sister Mary and the two were delighted to see one another. She would work along side her sister cleaning homes for the rich in England. Although she enjoyed England, as time passed she made a decision to leave England to find a place where all different kinds of people lived.

America came to her mind.

She arrived by boat in Boston and remembered seeing the city for the first time. She was greeted at the boat by her uncle, Thomas J. Foley and would reside at his residence in Norwood. Her first job in America was working for Schaffer Candy factory in Boston which she commuted to by train. She would often attend Irish dances in Dorchester and Roxbury with her best friend Nora Connelly (Niland) and dreamed of leaving the factory and becoming a hairdresser. One day at a coffee shop where she often met her friends, two men named Patrick Folan and Martin Niland approached her and her friend Nora and asked them if they would be their dates for the dance that night. Both couples fell in love and got married.

Nora Folan and Patrick Folan married on April 8, 1951. They soon moved to Stoughton before settling in Easton.

After obtaining her hairdressers license she opened her own business named Noreens Beauty Salon in Hyde Park on Truman Highway, which she operated for 10 years. After, she and her husband Patrick co-founded Folan Waterproofing and Construction of Easton which specializes in masonry restoration, waterproofing and historic preservation of masonry structures. Nora held a construction supervisor license, was a member of the Sealant, Waterproofing and Restoration Institute and was actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the business serving as president of the company.

Family was her first and foremost. She was a founding member and communicant of the Holy Cross Church in Easton, a member of the Mattapoisett Yacht Club. She enjoyed traveling extensively around the world and the U.S. and would often spend summers in Marthas Vineyard on their Grand Bank Boat named Noreen. Charitable and generous to those she knew and those she didn't, she treated everyone equally.

The Folan family would like to acknowledge the Life Care Center of West Bridgewater for their professional care. Nora was the loving mother of Noreen P. Folan of Easton, Patrick H. Folan and his wife Debbie of Stoughton and Mary Ellen Card and her husband Tommy of East Bridgewater; beloved daughter of the late Coleman and Nora (Folan) Folan; cherished grandmother of Noreen Melchert and her husband Mark, Holly Ann Folan, Aimee Foley and her husband John, Patrick J. Folan and his wife JulieAnn, Jeffrey Card, Faith Card and Derreck Card and the late Kevin Sean Folan; adored great-grandmother of Shamus, Kiley Erin, and Anna Noelle; sister of the late Mary Feeney, Joseph Folan, Coleman Folan, Peggy Folan and Ann Folan; aunt of Patrick and Maureen Feeney of Westwood and their daughter Deirdre Sweger and her husband Brian of New Jersey; as well as all of Maureens sisters; also survived by Michael Niland and family, Martin Matty Niland and family, Marie Cusick and family; numerous relatives in Portland, Maine; and nieces and nephews in Ireland. She was also the devoted family friend of the late Martin and Nora Niland.

The funeral was held from Kane Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 605 Washington Street (Rte. 138), Easton, Monday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass in the Holy Cross Church, 225 Purchase Street, Easton, at 10 a.m. Interment in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Easton. Visiting hours were Sunday from 2-5 p.m. Donations in Noras memory may be sent to the Holy Cross Church, 225 Purchase Street, Easton, MA 02375. For directions or condolences, www.kanefuneralhome.com.