Everyone she knew became part of her extended family
NORTH READING — Leona E. (Fitzgerald) Gallo, 77, of North Reading, formerly of Everett, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2022.
Leona was the daughter of the late Dorothy (Venezia) and Arthur Fitzgerald. She was the oldest of three children and was raised in Everett with her two sisters, Janis Capachietti of Reading and Joy Fitzgerald of San Francisco, Calif. She spent the majority of her childhood at her grandparents’ house in Revere with her many aunts, uncles and cousins. The bonds they made back in those early years followed them through their adult lives – they were all the best of friends, and still are.
Leona was preceded in death by the love of her life, Robert H. Gallo of Chelsea. They met as teenagers and spent countless days and nights living their best lives with their friends and family. The Gallos and the Fitzgeralds formed an immediate bond and spent every holiday together. It was like the two families became one. Bob and Leona raised their three children in North Reading and spent their summers on Pine Street in York Beach, Maine at the cottage that Bob built. You didn’t have to be related or even a friend…even if you were a friend of a friend or happened to be passing by, you were always welcomed with open arms.
In 2016 Leona retired from the Batchelder School in North Reading after more than 25 years. She started in the lunchroom and ended her career as a paraprofessional. The people she worked beside for all those years became some of her closest friends. She called them her Batch Family.
She is survived by her three children, Robert H. Gallo Jr. of New Hampshire; Robin (Gallo) Eisenhaure and her late husband, Peter Eisenhaure; and Kerri (Gallo) Shaw and her husband Brendon, all of North Reading.
Leona was the proud grandmother of Nicole (Eisenhaure) Herbst and her husband Dave; Jessica Eisenhaure and her fiancé Jay Meyers; Alicia Gallo, and Billy, Christie and Danny Shaw. She is also survived by her numerous cousins (who were like brothers and sisters), nieces, nephews, and some very dear friends we call our “framily.”
No matter what era in her life you met her, you couldn’t help but be drawn to her, love her, and become part of her family.
Her funeral will be held from the Cota Funeral Home, 335 Park St, (corner of Park St. and Rte. 28) North Reading on Tuesday, April 19 at 9:30 a.m. followed by a funeral Mass at St. Theresa’s Church, 63 Winter St. (Rte. 62), North Reading at 10:30 a.m. Relatives and friends may visit at the funeral home on Monday from 4 – 8 p.m. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery, North Reading.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B102, Danvers, MA 01923 or by logging on to caredimensions.org.
