Obituary for Dr. Jeanette M. Gallagher
Dr. Jeanette McCarthy Gallagher of Doylestown died at her home on June 20 at the age of 88. She brought great joy and enthusiasm to her career as a pioneering university professor, to her life as a loving wife and mother, and to her interactions with everyone she met.
Jeanette was the youngest of nine children of Henry McCarthy and Ella Schweiger McCarthy. On the family farm near Stacyville, Iowa, she had the childhood of a typical farmer’s daughter — picking raspberries for sale in town, weeding the house garden, participating in church activities, and carrying water to her brothers in the fields. From an early age she would drive the tractor to lift hay with a pulley so her brothers could pull it into the hayloft.
After graduating from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, Jeanette taught at various Iowa high schools. She obtained an M.A. in psychology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and then President Johnson’s Great Society program allowed her to pursue a doctorate in child development at Loyola University in Chicago. While at Loyola she was awarded a summer fellowship at Harvard University and then a postdoctoral fellowship there.
During her year at Harvard, Jeanette met Frank Gallagher of Doylestown, and they were soon married at a mass at Harvard Memorial Church. She became an assistant professor in the School of Education at Temple University and eventually advanced to full professor. Her students consistently rated her highly in course evaluations.
In her teaching and writings, Jeanette focused on the theory of Jean Piaget, the noted Swiss expert in children’s thinking. At Temple she was involved in the founding of the Jean Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge and Development, which has since become a truly international body and recently held its 50th annual meeting. This month the society awarded Jeanette its Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the organization and to the study of childhood development.
In Doylestown, Jeanette made many friends through her membership in the American Association of University Women and the Doylestown Nature Club. She was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and a supporter of local music groups like the Bucks County Symphony, the Lenape Chamber Music Festival, and the Doylestown Chamber Music Group. Jeanette was a strong advocate for women’s rights and for a more peaceful world. She loved practicing the art of flower arrangement, entertaining guests at home, and traveling with family and friends. Everyone who knew her will miss her warmth, her curious mind, and her quick wit.
In addition to her husband Frank, Jeanette is survived by her daughter Beth Gallagher and Beth’s partner Raymond Jackson; her son David Gallagher, his wife Fiona Spruill, and their children Violet and Desmond; and her sister Marion Pitzen.
Jeanette donated her body to the Anatomy Gifts Registry for use in science. A requiem mass in celebration of her life will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 235 East State Street in Doylestown on Monday, June 28th, at 11:00 a.m. Friends will be greeted at the church beginning at 10:15 am.
A livestream will begin at 10:45 am. Eulogieswill begin prior to the mass. Click on the webcast button below the obituary on the funeral home website
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the organization for which Frank volunteers, Doylestown Area FISH (doylestownfish.org), which helps people with short-term emergency needs.
Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com
Jeanette was the youngest of nine children of Henry McCarthy and Ella Schweiger McCarthy. On the family farm near Stacyville, Iowa, she had the childhood of a typical farmer’s daughter — picking raspberries for sale in town, weeding the house garden, participating in church activities, and carrying water to her brothers in the fields. From an early age she would drive the tractor to lift hay with a pulley so her brothers could pull it into the hayloft.
After graduating from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, Jeanette taught at various Iowa high schools. She obtained an M.A. in psychology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and then President Johnson’s Great Society program allowed her to pursue a doctorate in child development at Loyola University in Chicago. While at Loyola she was awarded a summer fellowship at Harvard University and then a postdoctoral fellowship there.
During her year at Harvard, Jeanette met Frank Gallagher of Doylestown, and they were soon married at a mass at Harvard Memorial Church. She became an assistant professor in the School of Education at Temple University and eventually advanced to full professor. Her students consistently rated her highly in course evaluations.
In her teaching and writings, Jeanette focused on the theory of Jean Piaget, the noted Swiss expert in children’s thinking. At Temple she was involved in the founding of the Jean Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge and Development, which has since become a truly international body and recently held its 50th annual meeting. This month the society awarded Jeanette its Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the organization and to the study of childhood development.
In Doylestown, Jeanette made many friends through her membership in the American Association of University Women and the Doylestown Nature Club. She was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and a supporter of local music groups like the Bucks County Symphony, the Lenape Chamber Music Festival, and the Doylestown Chamber Music Group. Jeanette was a strong advocate for women’s rights and for a more peaceful world. She loved practicing the art of flower arrangement, entertaining guests at home, and traveling with family and friends. Everyone who knew her will miss her warmth, her curious mind, and her quick wit.
In addition to her husband Frank, Jeanette is survived by her daughter Beth Gallagher and Beth’s partner Raymond Jackson; her son David Gallagher, his wife Fiona Spruill, and their children Violet and Desmond; and her sister Marion Pitzen.
Jeanette donated her body to the Anatomy Gifts Registry for use in science. A requiem mass in celebration of her life will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 235 East State Street in Doylestown on Monday, June 28th, at 11:00 a.m. Friends will be greeted at the church beginning at 10:15 am.
A livestream will begin at 10:45 am. Eulogieswill begin prior to the mass. Click on the webcast button below the obituary on the funeral home website
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the organization for which Frank volunteers, Doylestown Area FISH (doylestownfish.org), which helps people with short-term emergency needs.
Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com