…WWII Veteran, Tewksbury Hospital; 90
TEWKSBURY - Eleanor A. (Govelitz) Gallagher, R.N., age 90, died Thursday evening, January 31, at Bayberry at Emerald Court, following a brief illness. She was the beloved wife of the late Peter D. Gallagher, who died in October 2006.
She was born in North Girard, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1922, one of six children of the late John and Mary (Barna) Govelitz, and was raised in Port Reading, New Jersey. She earned her qualifications for Registered Nurse at the Jersey City Medical Center, and after certification, enlisted into the U.S. Army Medical Corps. She served in the South Pacific in Saipan, the largest of the Mariana Islands. Upon honorable discharge from the Army, she married Peter, and in 1951, settled in Tewksbury to raise her young family, and resume her career as an R.N. at Tewksbury Hospital where she was employed for fifteen years. She was a communicant of St. William’s Parish while residing in Tewksbury. When her family had grown, they lived in Andover, MA, Bricktown,NJ, and Windham, NH, but after Peter’s death, moved back to Tewksbury.
She is survived by four children, Arline Newman and her husband Michael of Tewksbury, Richard Gallagher and his wife Sally (Fleming) of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Janet Graham and her husband James of Bradford, MA, and Carol Gallagher of Haverhill and Monroeville, PA; four grandchildren, Jennifer Maher and her husband James of S.C., Michael Gallagher and his wife Amanda of Australia, Courtney Graham of Haverhill and Kelley Graham of Bradford; four great grandchildren, Caitlin, Peter, Maeve, and Chloe; two sisters, Mary Vozar and her husband Steven of TX, and Veronica Nacchio of TN; two sisters-in-law, Susan Govelitz of FL, and Gloria Govelitz of NJ; many nieces and nephews; and was predeceased by three brothers, John, George, and Robert Govelitz.
Her Funeral Mass was celebrated Monday, February 4, in St. William’s Church, Tewksbury. Burial with Army Honors was held Tuesday, February 5, in the NH Veteran’s Cemetery, Boscawen, NH. Memorials to the American red Cross of Eastern MA, 139 Main St., Cambridge, MA 02142, specify donations to “Services for Armed Forces” of on-line at www.redcross.org/charitable-donations, will be appreciated.