Estelle McMahon Gallagher died peacefully on March 3, 2008, with her children by her side. She was 82.
Born June 27, 1925, in Newport, R.I., she was the daughter of Patrick J. McMahon and Stella Coopy McMahon.
Estelle was raised in Newport and graduated from Rogers High School.
Estelle worked as a draftsman at the U.S. Naval Torpedo Base and at the local telephone company in Newport.
After her marriage to U.S. naval officer Brian M. Gallagher in 1947, Estelle moved to Chicago, then to San Diego, where she resided for 49 years on Point Loma.
Estelle was the mother of three and a homemaker while residing in California, where she was involved in the Shamrock Society, Republican Party and League of Women Voters in San Diego County. She was a parishioner of St. Agnes Catholic Church.
She is survived by three children, Patrick J. Gallagher and his wife, Joan Kellogg Gallagher, of Palo Alto; Michael B. Gallagher and his wife, Constance Cleator Gallagher, of Napa; and Maureen Gallagher McGreevy and her husband, Joseph W. McGreevy, of Lemon Grove.
Also surviving are seven grandchildren, Michael Murphy Gallagher, Gaelan Cleator Gallagher, Brian Patrick Gallagher, James Joseph McGreevy, Katherine Elizabeth Gallagher, Emily Katlin McGreevy and Meghan Elizabeth Gallagher. Estelle is also survived by two sisters, Jacqueline McMahon Armstrong and her husband, Raymond A. “Tyke” Armstrong (deceased) of Van Nuys, and Helen McMahon Fitzgerald and her husband, Timothy F. Fitzgerald, of Newport, R.I.; along with many nieces and nephews.
Services will be private. Estelle will be interred with her husband, Brian, who passed away in 1995. Interment will be at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Point Loma.
Estelle’s family suggests that donations in her memory may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, San Diego County Chapter, 495 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 250, San Diego, 92123, or online at sanalz.org.