Born February 12, 1947, in the Bronx, NY, she was the daughter of the late William Gallagher Sr. and Patricia (Stenholm) Gallagher. She graduated St. Peter’s High School for Girls in 1964 and attended Hunter College.
Known to family as Patti and to friends as Pat, she spent many years working in the insurance industry and retired as a regulatory analyst at the South Carolina Department of Insurance.
She was an avid reader and lover of old movies and music. Through volunteerism she devoted much of her free time to sharing her love of reading and the value of education through organizations including Reading is Fundamental (RIF), Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination, not to mention supporting her children in the myriad activities they enjoyed growing up.
She developed a passion for genealogy and became the de facto family historian. She built a family tree for the Wuzzardo, Gallagher, Stenholm and Haegele families that goes back generations and across the Atlantic helping tell a rich and authentic story of the United States since its early days.
But of all her activities, titles and honors, undoubtedly her favorite was “Grandma.” She loved living near Benjamin and Lilly and seeing them regularly, and they treasured the time spent with her, delighting in visiting her at her previous senior living apartment, where Grandma spoiled them with treats and parties and bragged to her friends about how smart and wonderful they were.
Patricia was preceded in death by her parents and husband Francis John Wuzzardo. She is survived by her children Kelly Wuzzardo of New Haven, CT, and Kevin Wuzzardo (Tiffany) of Collierville, TN; grandchildren Benjamin and Lillian Wuzzardo; brothers Dr. William Gallagher Jr. of Scottsdale, AZ, James Gallagher Sr. (Lynn) of Myrtle Beach, SC, and Capt. Thomas Gallagher of Salt Springs, FL; and brother-in-law Robert Wuzzardo Sr. (Rose) of Mullica Hill, NJ. She adored her niece and seven nephews and the many children they brought into the world, as well as cousins too numerous to count, as befits any good Irishman. Also innumerable are those she considered friends, because it counts almost everyone she ever met.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday, June 8, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church, 120 Marydale Lane, Columbia, SC 29210. Interment immediately following at Bush River Memorial Gardens, 5400 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks you consider supporting Reading is Fundamental at RIF.org.
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