Sarah W. Gallagher

Sarah Woodworth Gallagher, (Mrs. Charles T.) a resident of Concord, NH since 1950, passed away peacefully July 29th, 2013 at the Peabody Home in Franklin, NH in the presence of her loving family in her 92nd year.

She was born in Boston MA, January 25, 1922 to Charles Parker Woodworth and Sarah Cheney (Fish) Woodworth, grew up in Weston MA, attended the Meadowbrook School, graduated from the Walnut Hill School in 1940 and Erskine Junior College in 1942. She attended Ogontz Camp where she developed a life- long love of horses and riding.

She married Charles Theodore Gallagher in June 1949 at St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea, Rye Beach, NH near her family’s summer cottage on Straw’s Point. He predeceased her in 1992.

Lovingly devoted to family and friends, she is survived by: daughter Sarah Cheney Gallagher of Chichester, NH; son Charles Woodworth Gallagher, his wife Patricia Shattuck Gallagher and their sons Killian and Troy, of Gilford NH; son T. Parker Gallagher and his spouse the Rev. Daniel Velez-Rivera of Reston, VA; daughter Abby Kimball and her husband Mike Kimball of Silverthorne, CO; her sister Deborah W. Edgar, niece Anne Edgar and great nephew David DeCoste, of Concord, MA; many Woodworth and Gallagher cousins; her caregivers Leslie Winship and JoAnn Cimikoski, and countless friends drawn to her by her warmth, good humor and genuine compassion for everyone in all walks of life.

A lover of books and children, during WWII she worked at the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston, then the Wheelock College Bookstore, after which she was Assistant Librarian of the Baker Library at Dartmouth College for two years until her marriage. After raising her children, she returned to the workforce, first at Gibson’s Bookstore of Concord NH from 1976 to 1987, then at First Class Toys that Teach until 1990 when she retired.

She strongly believed in quietly supporting the causes in which she was involved. Sally loved the outdoors and the natural world. She was an active birdwatcher, a member of the Concord Bird and Wildflower Club from the time she came to Concord and its leader for many years, a member of the Audubon Society of NH where she volunteered for their Endangered Species program, the annual bird count and other initiatives. Her father and uncle having donated the summit of Mt Moosilauke to the Dartmouth Outing Club, she became a mountain climber and climbed all of NH’s “4,000 footers”, was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests for many years. A summer resident of Tamworth NH until 1998, she co-founded the Tamworth Conservation Commission, was its first Secretary for 7 years and co-authored the Tamworth Conservation Plan.

A lover of classical music, she had a subscription to the Friday afternoon series of Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts most of her life and was co-chair of the New Hampshire Chapter of the Friends of the BSO in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Additionally, she was a board member of the NH Music Festival for several terms and an avid attendee of their concerts and lectures. She also appreciated Fine Art and was a member and supporter of Manchester NH’s Currier Museum of Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Descended on both sides of her family from settlers of this country and the State of NH, she had a lifelong interest in history, genealogy and was a member of the Society of Colonial Dames of NH. She was a Docent at the New Hampshire Historical Society’s Eagle Square Museum and it’s Volunteer of the Year in 2009 for 14 years of service.

A lifelong Episcopalian, she was most recently a member of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, Dunbarton, NH where she had served on the Vestry, formerly member at St. Paul’s, Concord, NH and St. Andrew’s of the Valley, Tamworth, NH. She was an active volunteer for environmental causes with the Episcopal Diocese of NH.

A service of celebration of her life and faith will be held at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, Dunbarton, NH on Saturday August 10, 2013 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, please donate in her memory to: St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 270 Stark Highway North (Rt. 13) Dunbarton, NH 03045, New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street, Concord, NH 03301, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of New Hampshire (NSCDA-NH) 154 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801, or NH Audubon, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301. Interment will be in Blossom Hill Cemetery, Concord, NH.

The Bennett Funeral Home of Concord, NH is in charge of the arrangements.

Messages of condolences may be offered at www. bennettfuneral.com