Jean Barbara Gallo

Jean Barbara Gallo, 90 returned to Jesus on 9/9/2013. She passed away peacefully in Shamong Township, NJ, where she had been living for the past two-and-one half years with her loving daughter, Roseanne, and son-in-law Stanley Rowe. Jean was born on October 13, 1922, in Wichita, Kansas, to Alfred and Rose Bissonette. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and obtained her RN diploma from St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in Toledo. Jean enlisted in her country’s service as a 2nd Lt. Nurse in the US Army Air Corps, in 1944. In 1947, she was transferred to the newly-formed US Air Force, serving on active duty there until 1951, when she was promoted to the rank of Captain and transferred to the AF Reserves. She continued her military service in the Reserves’ Nurse Corps until April of 1956, flying 330 missions in the Pacific Theater to places such as Bangkok, Calcutta, Clark Air Base (Philippines), Dhahran, Eniwetok, Guam, Haneda (Tokyo), John Rodgers Field and Hickam AFB (both in Honolulu), Hilo (Hawaii), Iwo Jima, Johnston Atoll, Karachi, Kwajalein, Majuro Atoll, Manila, Midway Island, New Delhi, Shanghai, Tinian, and Wake Island. She met Anthony B. Gallo, her future husband, in Hawaii, and said it was “love at first sight,” in a romance on a tropical island when it was still remote and relatively unpopulated. He always knew when she’d be landing and met her plane every time. The life she shared with him was too brief; his death as an Air Force Lt. Colonel in 1963, at the age of 43, turned her world upside down. She called on her inner strength to raise their five children, then ages 10, 8, 7, 5 and 3 years. Jean over time became a Cub Scout Den Leader, Girl Scout Cookie Mom, and a CYO Mom. Jean was very active in Mount Holly’s Sacred Heart School and her Church, belonging to the Legion of Mary, helping with the school library, hoagie sales, calendar parties and anything else that was asked of her. Each Fall she would decorate a Christmas tree with handmade ornaments, for Sacred Heart Church parishioners to receive and then return with a present for the women and children at Providence House. In 1976, she took a nursing refresher course, and then worked for the next nine years at Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, now Virtua Memorial Hospital. After retiring she became a Eucharistic Minister, bringing communion to the sick at the hospital and Mt. Holly Center, a nursing home facility, on Tuesdays and Sundays. While she was living in her Eastampton neighborhood, Jean would greet each new neighbor with the gift of a loaf of her famous raisin bread. On Halloween, she would provide wine for all the adults and homemade popcorn balls for the kids. She was a member of Berry Basket Quilters. She enjoyed dancing and singing nursery rhymes. When Jean was 86 she was honored for her volunteer activities by the Burlington County Times’ Making a Difference program. In addition to daughter Roseanne, Jean is survived by daughters Cathy Cridge (Peter), Newtown, PA; and Mary Balkonis (Raymond), Warren, NJ; and sons Anthony Gallo (Pamela), Warren, NJ; and Thomas Gallo (Sue), Asheville, NC; her grandchildren Timothy and Robert Rowe; Teresa Nasabzadeh, Edward and Joseph Cridge; Matthew and Emily Balkonis; and Anthony and Peter Gallo and her Great Grandchild Parker Nasabzadeh. Sacred Heart’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul had a special place in Jean’s heart; she brought a bag of groceries for St. Vincent’s to each daily Mass she attended. Since Jean always said “Flowers are for the living; don’t bring them to me when I’m dead,” please continue her legacy by bringing a bag of non-perishable food, or donating to St. Vincent de Paul c/o Sacred Heart Church, 260 High Street, Mt Holly, NJ 08060. She will be missed greatly by family and all of her many friends. Look in the dictionary for the term “Paragon of Virtue,” and you’ll find Jean’s picture. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday at 9:30 AM at the Sacred Heart Church, 260 High St., Mount Holly. Interment with military honors will follow in Beverly National Cemetery. Friends may call on Sunday afternoon from 2-5 PM at the Perinchief Chapels, 438 High St., Mt. Holly and on Monday from 4-6 PM at the Sacred Heart Church.

Jean Barbara Gallo

October 13, 1922 - September 9, 2013