Nancy Gallagher Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Nancy Gallagher of Redwood City, a wife, mother, grandmother and consummate hostess, died at home Aug. 11, a month shy of her 90th birthday. She had been diagnosed earlier in the year with heart-related issues and cancer.Born Nancy Fick, she grew up on a citrus ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, which provided an unlikely training ground for the skills she developed that later defined her as an accomplished home chef. Everything that ended up on the Fick table was fresh, from the fruits and vegetables grown on the ranch to milk from the family cow.Consequently, as a mother of three in the 1960s, she put “cuisine” on the table instead of dinner. For friends, an invitation to eat at the Gallaghers was equivalent to going to a restaurant, and holidays were extraordinarily festive. An avid fan of Martha Stewart and Ina Garten, she created a home with style, starting at the garden full flowers and bird feeders and on through the front door.Nancy Gallagher was the widow of James A. Gallagher, a former newspaper editor and executive with the San Mateo County Transit District, who died in 2014. They met in Lake Tahoe, where they both had summer jobs at Sunnyside Inn, Jim as bartender and singer in the lounge and Nancy a server in the dining room. They married in 1952, just before Jim’s scheduled entry into Marine Corps officers candidates school.The Gallaghers’ first son, Kevin, was born at Quantico Naval Hospital in Virginia. The couple’s two other children, Rob and Kathleen, arrived in the late 50s and early 60s, after the Gallaghers returned to California. They moved to Redwood City in 1960, when Jim came to work at the Redwood City Tribune.In the mid 70s Nancy began work in the audio-visual department at the San Mateo County Office of Education and retired in 2000 after 25 years. She was a quick study when it came to computers and had a knack for accounting.Nancy was active in the community, was an early member of the Peninsula Hills Women’s Club and continued her involvement with the club’s charity work until her recent illness. In addition to cooking she loved classical music, gardening and was an avid reader.The Gallaghers were enthusiastic sports fans and devoted themselves to attending their children’s and grandsons’ games and meets. In addition to her three children, Nancy is survived by a granddaughter (Jennifer Gallagher) and three grandsons (Turner, Landon and Ramsey Baty.) Nancy is also survived by her daughter in law (Denise Gallagher) and son in law (Kevin Koerner.)A private graveside service will be held at Skylawn Memorial Park. The family suggests friends who wish to honor Nancy’s memory make a donation in her honor to the American Cancer Society.

Nancy Gallagher

September 12, 1929 - August 11, 2019