Joanne K. (McHugh) Gallagher, a resident of Wakefield for the past 63 years, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2026, at the Greenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wakefield.  She was 95 years of age. Joanne was born in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on September 6, 1930, the daughter of the late Joseph T. and Margaret (Marshall) McHugh.

Joanne moved from Wolfeboro to South Portland, Maine when she was in eighth grade.  She graduated from South Portland High School, where she met her husband, Jim who had just returned from service in the Navy in World War II.  They married in 1948 and moved to Boston for Jim to attend college.  There, they began raising a family, first in Somerville, then Stoneham before settling in Wakefield.

Joanne had many friends in Wakefield and was active in the community including as Chair of the Board of the former Boit Home and on the Board of Directors of the Colonel James Hartshorne House Association.  Most important though, was the love and support she provided to her family. She was the rock that we could rely on in good times, as well as in those times that challenged us.  She will be greatly missed.

Joanne was the beloved wife of the late James W. Gallagher.  Devoted mother of Kathleen H. Weaver and her husband Jeff, James W. Gallagher, Jr and his wife Denise, Brian J. Gallagher and his wife Loretta, Deirdre C. DiLibero and her husband Kevin, Siobhan M. Shwartzer and her husband David and the late Timothy P. Gallagher.  Cherished sister of the late David McHugh and she was the loving grandmother of 8 and loving great grandmother of 12.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church 71 Central St. Stoneham at 10am followed by the burial at Lakeside Cemetery in Wakefield.  There are no visiting hours.

In lieu of flower contributions may be made in Joanne's memory to the charity of one's choice.

Arrangements under the direction of the Douglass, Edgerly and Bessom Funeral Home, Reading.  www.douglassfuneralhome.com