Mary Agnes Gallagher

Mary Agnes Gallagher (nee Donnelly) passed away surrounded by her children on September 21, 2025.

Mary Agnes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Mary (nee McCairns) and John Donnelly.  When Mary Agnes was 3 years old  she moved with her mother and brother, Jack to live with their Aunt Agnes McCairns. That tiny row home in Kensington, Philadelphia was the loving environment in which Mary Agnes grew up.  The Carroll family who lived just 2 doors away from the McCairns home were lifelong friends and became surrogate Aunts to Mary Agnes and Jack. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this village was one filled with love, compassion, strength and most importantly love of God. This village was the foundation that formed Mary Agnes into the loving, kind, godly woman she was throughout her life.

Mary Agnes attended Visitation Catholic Elementary School and went on to attend and graduate from John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School. Mary Agnes was very proud that she was an alumna of Hallahan and continued to be a part of the Alumnae Association throughout her life. During her years in high school, Mary Agnes had decided to enter the convent after graduation. However, her mother became very ill, and Mary Agnes decided to postpone entering despite her mother’s warning that “if she didn’t go now, she never would”. Today there are 7 children, 17 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren who are blessed that she chose marriage and motherhood instead.

Mary Agnes met her beloved husband, Jim (James J. Gallagher, Sr) at a Saint Joseph College graduation party for a mutual friend. They dated and eventually married on July 18, 1953, at Visitation Parish Church. A funny detail that Mary Agnes shared was that because Jim was almost 6 feet tall and she was a mere 4’ 10”, she had to stand 2 steps higher than he did for their wedding pictures outside the church. Mary Agnes and Jim moved in with Aunt Agnes in the same row home in which Mary Agnes had grown up. In 1954, their first child, a daughter was born and 3 months later, they purchased the home in which they raised their family, a row home in Mayfair section of Philadelphia. Within the next 11 years, Mary Agnes had 6 more children – 2 sons and 4 daughters. The home was crowded and sometimes chaotic but always filled with love and laughter. Mary Agnes had a few jobs outside the home, but she first and foremost was a wife and mother – those were the roles she loved and at which she most excelled.

Mary Agnes was a devout Roman Catholic and raised her family in the Church and to know the Lord. She loved and was devoted to the Blessed Mother, saying her rosary daily. She was a member of Saint Timothy’s Church in Philadelphia where she became a Eucharistic Minister and many years later when Mary Agnes and Jim moved to Lake Placid, Florida, she was a devoted member of St James Church and was a Eucharistic Minister there as well.

In 2018, Mary Agnes & Jim moved “back North” to be closer to family. They moved to Foulk Living Center in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2023, her beloved, Jim passed away. Her heart was broken yet she continued to be the kind, compassionate, empathic woman all had come to know. Jesus has called us to be salt and light to this dark world and Mary Agnes exemplified this throughout her life. Mary Agnes connected with everyone she met and made them feel unique and special. Mary Agnes was so well loved by her family, friends and the Foulk Living staff.

Mary Agnes is predeceased by her beloved husband of 69 years, James J. Gallagher, Sr; her son James J Gallagher, Jr; her mother Mary Donnelly (McCairns), her aunt Agnes McCairns, her brother John Donnelly and his wife Clara, and her great granddaughter, Matilyn Grace Massey. Mary Agnes is survived by her children Christine Massey (William), Mary Theresa Caputo (Louis), Ellen Gallagher-Goff (Thomas), Carolyn Moffa (Thomas), Kathleen Curran (Wallace), and Joseph Gallagher (Kris Kennedy), as well as 17 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.

A viewing will take place on Friday, September 26, 2025 beginning at 11:00 AM at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4701 Weldin Road Wilmington, Delaware 19803. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 12:00 PM. Burial will be at 2:00 PM at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 3301 W Cheltenham Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19150.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Blood Cancer United (formerly Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) at www.bloodcancerunited.org