Lillie Petit Gallagher

Lillie Petit Gallagher, 88, passed away October 12th in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her son Charles by her side. Lillie was born on May 24, 1937, to Sam and Lillian Petit in Cut Off, Louisiana, a small French speaking community. After graduating from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans in 1959, Lillie moved to Baton Rouge, where she met the love of her life, George Clark Gallagher. There, she raised her family and remained until her passing.

A Louisiana educator, adoption advocate, and arts patron, Lillie helped shape Baton Rouge’s cultural and civic life for more than five decades through her quiet yet powerful leadership.

After graduating from St. Mary’s Dominican College and earning a graduate degree in child development and social services from Louisiana State University, she devoted her career to education and child advocacy. Lillie taught early childhood development and, in 1966, founded the original Montessori School of Baton Rouge. In 1975, she went on to establish Louisiana’s first statewide Gifted and Talented Program as program director for the Louisiana Department of Education.

Lillie’s most enduring work came as the founding Executive Director of St. Elizabeth Foundation, a non-profit adoption agency founded in 1988 by A. Hayes Town, which provides support and care for pregnant women across Louisiana. Since its inception, this charitable organization has been responsible for placing more than 600 babies with loving parents. For her work, Lillie was named an “Angel in Adoption” by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption for which she was recognized by President George W. Bush in 2001. Through compassion, grace, and quiet strength, Lillie was instrumental in fostering legislation that reshaped adoption services across the state.

A consummate volunteer and steadfast patron of the arts, Lillie also devoted herself to historic preservation and community service. With her guidance, volunteers from LSU, Southern University, and local high schools have helped maintain the historic African American Lutheran Benevolent Society Cemetery for many years.

Lillie was particularly keen on preserving Baton Rouge’s iconic City Park and its golf course, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When the historic golf course faced redevelopment, she led a community effort to preserve its historic layout and community use and form. In 2024, the Friends of City Park Group, along with representatives of the state, city-parish and BREC honored her legacy with a bench at the first tee, which recognized her unwavering efforts to preserve City Park. These efforts continued into her final week of life and are now carried forward by a dedicated group of diverse community leaders, everyday citizens, and golfers young and old. The Gallagher family supports and encourages the community’s continued efforts to preserve City Park Golf Course for the benefit of future generations to come.

Lillie lived her values as beautifully as she spoke them. Through her devotion to her Cajun French heritage, Lillie and her husband funded the Lillie Pettit & George Clark Gallagher Graduate Student Travel and Research Scholarship in French Studies. This scholarship helps ensure that future students can sustain the French culture and Louisiana history she so dearly cherished and celebrated. Lillie was also passionate and devoted to the annual Bastille Day Mass and Celebration held at St. Joseph Cathedral, celebrating the shared French heritage of the Cathedral and the City of Baton Rouge.

Her signature, red lipstick was ever-present. It was her small, but unmistakable symbol of confidence and care. Lillie’s elegance was never vanity, it was respect for others and for the causes she championed.

Lillie’s story is one of legacy and humanity. She was an educator who shaped minds, an advocate who built families, and a patron who made her city more beautiful, one act of kindness at a time.

To her family & friends, she was simply Mom, MiMi, or Ms. Lillie... but to so many others she was the heart of Baton Rouge.

The family would like to express their most sincere gratitude to Antoinette Robertson for her years of caring, loving support, and assistance, along with her dedicated physician, Dr. Susan Richarme. A special thanks is also extended to her son Charles, who has provided tireless care to his mother over the years.

Lillie is preceded in death by her husband, George Clark Gallagher; her parents, Lillian Camille DeFelice and Sampson Joseph Petit; her sister, Joyce Petit Fontaine, and Joyce’s husband, Lenhard James Fontaine; and her niece, Allyce Fontaine Juenke. Lillie is survived by her children Mary Catherine Gallagher Eymard (Hilton Jr.), John Joseph Gallagher (Carol Giltner), Paul George Gallagher (Michelle Bourgeois), and Charles Petit Gallagher; her grandchildren, Ashton Gallagher Eymard, Hilton Joseph Eymard III, and Camille Ruth Gallagher; and numerous nieces and nephews who lovingly knew her as “Nan Lillie.”

Services:

Visitation will be held from 5:00–7:00 p.m. with a Rosary at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 16, at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, and from 9:00–10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 17, at St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main Street, with funeral Mass to follow at 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St. Elizabeth Foundation, 8054 Summa Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. A private family burial will follow at L’Ange Callahan Cemetery, Sacred Heart Church in Cut Off, Louisiana.

Rabenhorst Funeral Home Downtown is in charge of arrangements. Those who believe in the Communion of Saints are asked to pray for her soul and the spiritual welfare of her survivors.

“Behold my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 17:5

The family asks to please share your favorite memories, photos, or “Lillie stories” here: https://form.jotform.com/252858312132049