Margaret Gallo

Margaret (Marge) Gallo, age 91, of Palm Springs, Florida, formerly of Suffern, NY, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Thursday, October 26, 2023. Margaret was born in NYC, NY to Rosina (Lauria) & Joseph Episcopio. She grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the shadows of the Brooklyn Bridge…it was the bridge the family came to know forever as ‘Mom’s Bridge”. When Margaret was 14, her family relocated to the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn. After graduating from Seward Park High School in Manhattan, class of 1949, she continued her education at Hunter College. While at Hunter, she was inducted into the prestigious national honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. This was an honor unfamiliar to her parents. It was her father’s accountant, Mr. Wishnik, who explained that it was something that could not be bought with all the money in the world, but rather it was recognition for her high academic achievement. When she graduated from Hunter in 1953 with both a Foreign Language & an Education Degree, she was recruited for a position with the U.S. State Department. However, a chance encounter just six months prior made the decision to refuse the offer very easy. In the 1970’s she got her Master Degree in Education at Fairfield University.

It was during the Christmas holiday season of 1952 that she met her beloved future husband, Neil, who was on leave from the Marines at Camp Lejuene. Neil’s father asked him to drive him to a friend’s home to sample his homemade wine. When Neil & Marge’s eyes met, they later learned that they both had the same thought, “This is who I’m going to marry!” For the duration of Neil’s leave, they did everything together, including attending the Hunter College formal. They corresponded through letters & spent time together whenever Neil was able to leave the base. He was honorably discharged August 1953 & they married on April 17, 1954 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Brooklyn.

Immediately after graduation, Marge’s teaching career started in the NYC schools. However, in 1956 she took a leave to start their family. As the family grew & the need for more room grew, they relocated to Suffern in 1965. Once all their children were in school fulltime, Marge returned to teaching after a “15 year maternity leave”! In 1971, she started teaching in the Suffern (Ramapo) Central School District at Airmont School & later on at the Montebello Road School. She made learning come alive & inspired several students to become teachers.

After she retired in 1988, Marge & Neil enjoyed the life of snowbirds, wintering in Florida at Lakeside Village, Palm Springs. Marge enjoyed line dancing, ceramics, arts & crafts, Bingo and most of all painting. Painting opened her up to a whole new world. She took painting with various instructors to not only learn their style but to also learn how to work with the many types of paint. Marge shared her love of painting by teaching painting at in Florida at Lakeside Village.

Also, while in Florida, she taught reading to children at the village library. In Suffern, she & other retired teachers got together to teach English to the Hispanic & Russian immigrants that had moved into the village. The adult students, in turn shared their cultural traditions.

Marge had many interests. She was an avid reader from an early age. She enjoyed sewing, knitting & crocheting for her children & grandchildren. Both she & Neil were excellent cooks & together with friends formed a gourmet club. Marge also enjoyed Mah jongg, crossword puzzles, entering sweepstakes, and traveling with her husband.

As a very young girl, she joined the Solidarity of Mary at St. Joaquim’s Church in NYC & had a lifelong devotion to the Blessed Mother. She was a longtime parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Suffern & a member of their Ladies Guild. While in Florida, she was a parishioner at St. Luke’s Church, Palm Springs.

Marge was also a member of the Woman’s Club of Suffern & until recent years, a member of the Montebello Senior Citizens Club.

Margaret was predeceased by her parents, by her step-father Procopio (Pete) Galati, and by her husband of 50 years, Cornelius (Neil) Gallo. She is survived by her children Regina (Albert) Martin, Neil Gallo (Brian Allas), Linda (Kenneth) Meyer, Joyce (Salvatore) Castronovo, & Lisa (James) Barnett; her grandchildren Lynette (Juan Carlos) Santana, Margaret (Pascal) Schneider, Elisabeth (Ethan) Brothers, James Barnett & Salvatore C. Castronovo; and by her great-grandchildren J. Michael, Scarlett, Aria & Maya Santana & Isabel Brothers, and by her sister-in-law Theresa Wolff.

She will be forever remembered for how she drew others in with her quiet ways, her kindness, and her radiant smile that put others at ease. Over the last several months, the dementia took that smile & brightness in eyes away. Mindlessly, she went about her day with tasks somehow resembling things she use to do. When she picked up & soothed her baby doll, she herself was comforted. To her she was real, she was precious & she was much loved. Because she wouldn’t name her, we chose the name for her… “Precious”! No longer being able to speak, she showed her love to those around her by holding their hands.

Two TV commercials sparked her interest over the last several months…pizza & St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. She didn’t realize the children were sick, just the fact that they were children. So in Lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. And the next time you have pizza, remember Marge!

Visitation will be Monday, November 6, 4pm-8pm at Wanamaker Carlough Funeral Home, 177 Route 59, Suffern, NY. A mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, November 7 at Sacred Heart Church, 129 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern, NY. Entombment will follow at Ascension Cemetery, 650 Saddle River Rd, Air