Grace Maude Gallagher

Grace was born on March 11,1928 to J. Neil and Gertrude (Moreland) Beaton in Sherbrooke, Quebec. She was raised in Lennoxville, Quebec. Grace graduated from Bishop’s University with a B.Sc. (Economic Studies) in 1947, at the age of 19. She went on to earn teaching certifications and taught school in Montreal and several communities in rural Quebec until she married Paul Gallagher in Montreal in 1955. Grace and Paul had four children, Katherine, Stephen, Edward, and Peter. Grace devoted herself to raising her family in St. Bruno and Montreal West QC, Richmond Hill ON, and North Vancouver BC.

While the children were young, Grace arranged, through the Thomas Moore Institute, to have one university course offered in St. Bruno every year to, in her words, “prevent my intellect from descending to that of my eldest child.” Eventually she accumulated enough courses to be awarded a Master’s degree (Advanced Studies) from Bishop’s University in the late 1960s. Grace also taught English as a Second Language as a volunteer in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.

Grace was a gifted teacher. Several of Grace’s students from her early days of teaching looked her up in St. Bruno to thank her for her encouragement and her role in their success as adults.

Grace loved her family very much. A feminist before the word was even coined, and always an independent thinker, she was also an accomplished and adventurous cook (despite the picky palates of her husband and children); she was a superb seamstress; and she kept a bright and happy house. Grace read voraciously, usually several books at once, so she always had the perfect book for her current mood. She was engaged and interested in world events (and particularly enjoyed monitoring the actions of “That Idiot” to the south) until a few days before she died.

Grace’s passion was gardening. At each of her homes, she created large and beautiful gardens that were always works in progress. For her, gardening was a meditation in which she could lose herself for hours at a time. It kept her physically and mentally fit until her final illness (and the terrible winter of 2016/17) prevented her from going outside.

Grace is survived by her children: Katherine and her husband Jeffrey Parsons; Stephen and his wife Donna; Edward and his wife Michelle; and Peter; as well as her grandchildren, Richard and Charles (Genesee Bohn) Gallagher. She also leaves behind her devoted friend and honorary daughter, Joanne Lapin. Grace’s sister Joan (Larry) Chalmers and cousin Patricia Davis will miss her, as will her sister-in-law Marilyn (Gerry) Turpin. Grace also had many wonderful nieces and nephews, and a street full of kind and generous neighbours.

Grace was predeceased by her husband, Paul; her daughter-in-law, Teresa Megli; her parents, Gertrude and Neil; her parents-in-law, C. Edward and Edna Gallagher; as well as her sisters-in-law Rosemary Bradley, Olive Bradley, and Lois Sauve, and her brother-in-law Edward Gallagher.

Grace lived a long life, and she enjoyed it. We are all lucky to have had her as a part of our lives.

The family thanks Dr. Bazilli and the North Shore’s Palliative Care Program, particularly home support worker Crystal and nurses Cathy and Bruria.

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Services, North Vancouver, BC.