Jeanette Marie Gallaher

Jeanette Marie Gallaher was born in Toledo, OH on November 19, 1938. Daughter to Donald and Gladys Cairl; sister to Nancy; wife to Denny; mother to Kathy, Karen and Tim; grandmother to eight; great-grandmother to six; and friend to many ... she loved them all dearly. If she could, Jeanette would end this piece here, for she was acutely humble and reserved. But, alas, Jeanette passed away in her Grand Rapids, OH home Monday, November 1, 2021 ... and her loved ones wish to note the following:

Jeanette was a strong, talented and principled women. A strident defender of the rights and respect owed to the homemaker, caregiver, mother and wife, she thrived in that vocation. Her greatest satisfaction came from the guidance and support she provided her family, and of the results of that work. A self-taught specialist in all things home economics, she was an avid and exacting crafter, cook, gardener and book-keeper, with a particular expertise in needle, thread and yarn.

Jeanette lived a full and expansive life. Throughout her 57 years with Denny (until his death in 2015), during which they traveled extensively from the Michigan UP to the Florida Keys, she was a somewhat game but slightly reluctant participant in an endless procession of parties, parades and shenanigans, and she treasured those experiences, the places they encountered, and the people who shared in them to the end.

Jeanette was a fighter. During the last few years of her life, she faced down a series of daunting heath challenges with courage, grace and humor, and with the support of her friends and family to whom she was deeply grateful (particularly her sister, Nancy). In the end, her fight gave us years of additional time with her, for which we are deeply grateful.

Jeanette was preceded in death by husband, Dennis. She is survived by sister, Nancy (Clem Moscrop); children, Kathy (Kevin Hunter), Karen (Patrick Gstalder) and Tim (Deanna) Gallaher; grandchildren, Stuart, Haley (Cory Adams), Samuel (Cariss) Hunter; Laurie (Kenny Gabel), Ellen and Mike Gstalder; Jenna (Jake Puffer) and Jay (Bianca) Gallaher; great-grandchildren, Cora, Maren, and Isla Puffer, Nolan and Hudson Gabel; Forrest Gallaher; and many nieces, nephews, and their spouses.


Visitation will be held at Newcomer Funeral Home, 4752 Heatherdowns Blvd., Toledo, OH on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 11:30. A prayer service will begin at 12:30. After the service, friends and family are invited to process to Wakeman Cemetary in Waterville, OH where Jeanette will be laid to rest, followed by a luncheon at Farnsworth Park in Waterville, OH.