Chiusano, Joan
On February 8, 2024, Charlotte (Ward) Gallagher, “Nan” left this life at 101 years old, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia. Born in Paintsville, Kentucky on May 12, 1922, Charlotte grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky with her parents Pete and Florence Ward and four brothers Bo, Charles (her twin brother), Norbert, and Jack, during the Great Depression. Charlotte worked in the family's bakery (Ward's Bakery in Nicholasville), earned a degree at a business college, wrote pedigrees at a thoroughbred horse farm where she met clients such as Emperor Hirohito, the Vanderbilts, and Hollywood types from the 1930s and 1940s. She moved to Washington, D.C. during World War II to work for the FBI, then Capital Airlines, and later the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she retired at the age of 70. Married to Bernard Gallagher, they lived in Beltsville, and Landover Hills, Maryland, had four children together, Marie Miller, Madeline Mitchell (David), Bernie Gallagher, and John Gallagher (Jeanine), six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. One of her favorite hobbies was gardening; her springtime daffodils were spectacular. A family only interment will be held at the Crownsville, Maryland Veterans Cemetery, a celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the U.S. National Arboretum or the National Audubon Society are appreciated.