Obituary of Loretta A. Gallo

Loretta Ann (Nicholas) Gallo, 85, Newburgh, Maine, passed away on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at Waldo County General Hospital, Belfast, Maine.

She was  born on February 5, 1938, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, to William and Mary Ludmilla (Protivansky) Nicholas. She graduated from Bay Ridge High School, Brooklyn, and later attended Sacred Heart University, Bridgeport, Connecticut for accounting. 

Loretta was a confident, intelligent, methodical and practical woman who held high standards filled with integrity.

She married her beloved Louis Gallo in April 1958. They had three daughters, who they raised in New Jersey and Connecticut.

Entering into young adulthood, Loretta loved mathematics, learned and played the piano, attended parish dances (where she met Louis), and going to the movies (the “pictures”). In the summertime she enjoyed going to Coney Island with her cousins and friends. She loved flowers and visiting gardens. In her adult life, Loretta enjoyed playing cards.  She worked daily crossword puzzles and was an avid mystery book reader. 

During her career, Loretta worked in accounting, and in the course of her life lived in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Maine. In 1993, Loretta and Louis moved to Florida for retirement, eventually settling in Dunnellon, where she was an active member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. There Loretta coordinated funeral liturgies and lunches, served as a minister of holy communion, lectored, and as an altar server. She also visited the sick. 

Loretta also enjoyed traveling. She traveled for work, as well as with Louis. Together they took cruises, traveled throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. In 2018 Loretta traveled to China with her friend, before moving to Maine in 2019. 

Loretta will be very missed by her family and friends. Her husband, Louis, preceded her in death in January 2016. Loretta is survived by three children: Cynthia Gallo (Bill) Callan, of Springfield, Illinois, Theresa Gallo Blackadar, of Newburgh, Maine, and Marie Gallo (Steve) Hall of Coventry, Connecticut. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, Laura (Buckley) Smith (husband Ben), Jason Clemens, Benjamin Buckley (wife Connie), Austin Hall, Victoria Clemens, Samuel Clemens, Claire Hall, and four great-grandchildren, Wyatt Smith, Emma Buckley, Charlotte Smith, Isabelle Buckley, and her brother Dr. William Nicholas, Haverhill, Massachusetts, along with nieces and nephews. 

A funeral Mass will be held at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Hampden, Maine, on Friday, September 8 at noon. A celebration of her life will be held for family and friends in Coventry, Connecticut at a later date. Her final resting place will be at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, New Jersey.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed to Beverly Farms Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled (specifically Activities, DEHL, and Equestrian), 6301 Humbert Rd., Godfrey, IL 62035. www.beverlyfarm.org 

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