Anne Marie Fallahnejad, pioneering pathologist and Catholic theologian, has died at 77

Anne Marie Cusack Fallahnejad, 77, of Gladwyne, pioneering pathologist, Catholic theologian, and lifelong student of philosophy, died Friday, July 28, of vascular dementia at the Quadrangle retirement center in Haverford.

One of only six women enrolled at Hahnemann Medical College in the early 1970s and the only one in her graduating class of 1974, Dr. Cusack — she used her unmarried surname to avoid confusion with her doctor husband — worked in pathology laboratories at Philadelphia General, Crozer-Chester, and Bryn Mawr Hospitals from 1970 to 1984.

Naturally focused and deliberate, she was well-suited for the meticulous lab work, and she researched the causes and effects of diseases, and examined samples of body fluids, tissues, and organs for diagnostic and forensic objectives. She was independent and fearless, her family said, and, inspired by her father’s urging, worked in the laboratory largely because few women had done it before.

She was also drawn throughout her life to religious scholarship and the philosophical study of reality and existence. She embraced “any chance to silently think and contemplate the world,” her family said in a tribute.

Her daughter, Fatema Burkey, said: “She was curious with an insatiable intellect.”

After she retired from the lab to rear her daughter and son, Robert, in Gladwyne, Dr. Cusack studied theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in the late 1990s. She completed several courses, became a church deacon, and was codirector of religious education for more than a decade at St. John Vianney Church.

She was also longtime vice president at the Mary E. Groff Charitable Trust for medical science, research, and education, and certified in art history by the Barnes Foundation. Not surprisingly, the conversations at the family dinner table each night were generally lively, educational, and memorable.

“She had a creative mind and was one of those exceptionally bright people,” her daughter said.

Born in New York on Aug. 2, 1945, Anne Marie Cusack and her family moved to Camden when she was 5. She played basketball at Williamstown High School, honed the intellectual curiosity that highlighted the rest of her life, and graduated as class valedictorian in 1963.

Her father died when she was 12, and she never forgot their trips across the river to museums in Philadelphia and his constant encouragement. In 1975, her mother and maternal grandparents were killed in a car crash.

She developed an early interest in science and medicine and nearly became a veterinarian due to her love of animals. She was offered a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but chose to earn a bachelor’s degree in science at Rutgers University in 1967 to stay closer to family in New Jersey.

She met fellow doctor Manucher Fallahnejad through a mutual friend in Philadelphia. He was outgoing. She was private. He liked the beach. She liked the mountains. Still, it was a near-perfect match. They married in 1975. Her husband died in 2013.

Dr. Cusack traveled widely with her family, prepared special meals for her husband, and hosted fun-filled dinner parties for friends. She especially enjoyed trips to Canada and Maine, where she could sit quietly on the front porch and read and think.

She became an expert on Persian cuisine and reveled in whipping up her husband’s favorite dishes, just like his mother back in Iran. She sewed her own wedding dress and outfits for her children.

She was a homebody but spent many enjoyable summer vacations with her family in Ocean City. She taught Sunday school, liked to wander by herself through museums, and was amused by almost every Chevy Chase movie.

“She led an active life of the mind,” her son said. “She liked to stay home, to sit and read. She was always thinking about something.”

In addition to her children, Dr. Cusack is survived by five grandchildren and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

Private services are to be held later.

Donations in her name may be made to the Mary E. Groff Charitable Trust, c/o the Glenmede Trust Co., 1650 Market St., Suite 1200, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.