Ardis Boyd Gallagher

Ardis Boyd Gallagher, age 93, a longtime resident of Falls Church, VA, passed away on May 14, 2020, in Springfield, VA, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was born to the late Mack David Boyd and Caroline "Carrie" Hodges Woolard Boyd on Dec.31, 1926, in Washington, NC. She was a 1944 graduate of Washington High School. In her early twenties she moved to Richmond, VA and worked as an Administrative Assistant. During this time she met Francis Aloysius Gallagher, whom she married in 1949. They settled in Northern VA, where they raised eight children, and were married for nearly 50 years, until his passing in 1998. Ardis was active in politics, working on campaigns and at polling places for many years. She was employed at Easter Seal Society, serving people with special needs. She later worked for the Fairfax County Government, as an Administrative Assistant at several local Health Department branches in Northern VA, until her retirement in 1994. She loved to sit and visit with friends and was an avid reader in her spare time. Ardis was a very sincere and kind woman, with a compassionate heart for others, and one who fought for the underprivileged or disadvantaged. She was a loving wife, a faithful friend to many, and a devoted mother who gave freely and completely of herself to her family, who were her pride and joy. She was tireless in cooking for her clan, chauffeuring children to their practices, sporting events, clubs, church, catechism, after school jobs, and cheering enthusiastically at every ball game, swim meet, and wrestling match they had. She used to say it was great when her kids played on opposing Little League teams, because she could just go to one game and cheer for both sides! We, the grateful eight, are keenly aware of the blessing to have been raised in this family, by these wonderful parents, who loved us all equally and unconditionally, pointed us to God, prayed with us all together as a family every night, and didn't show favoritism. Mom used to say that the "favorite one" was whoever was sick or in pain or had a need at the moment. An amazing bit of useless, but fun trivia: even after all those children, her hair never turned gray, and was never colored in all her 93 years! Ardis is survived by her eight children, Pat (and Ev) Gallagher of Clarksburg, MD; Michael (and Kathleen) Gallagher of Severna Park, MD; Kevin (and Barbara) Gallagher of Centreville, VA; Kathleen "Missy" Beveridge of Spotsylvania, VA; Sean Gallagher of Takoma Park, MD; Caroline (and Craig) MacFarlane of Sterling, VA; Terrence Gallagher of Falls Church, VA; and Maureen (and Kevin) Gower of Gainesville, VA. She is also survived by 18 grandchildren, one step grandchild, 18 great grandchildren, and two step great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Francis, in 1998; her precious grandson Justin Bonfield in 1989, and her son-in-law, Cash Beveridge in 2019, as well as her parents and all five of her siblings. Due to safety precautions and limited attendance allowances during this ongoing pandemic, her viewing, funeral Mass and burial will be privately attended. Her funeral mass may be viewed live on Facebook via Murphy Funeral Home of Falls Church at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.