Mercedes Gallagher, 63, of Becket, died Tuesday morning (January 16) at Craneville Place in Dalton.
She was born Feb. 22, 1954, in Portsmouth, Virginia, the daughter of Thomas F. Gallagher Jr. and Jane Locke Gallagher. She attended Stonehill College in Massachusetts. From 1986 to 1994, she was the manager at the Logan Inn in New Hope, Pennsylvania. From 1982 to 1988, she was the lead activist for Dump the Pump in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She moved to Becket in 1994. From 1994 to 2000, she was the director of finance for the Kushi Institute in Becket. Since 2000, she has worked as a waitress at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. Mercedes was the director of the Center Pond Weed Project in Becket, overseeing the removal of the invasive aquatic milfoil weed. She was on the advisory committee for the Westfield River Wild and Scenic, and she was a town representative in Becket.
Mercedes is survived by her brother, Thomas F. Gallagher III, of Stony Brook, New York; and two sisters: Mona Porter of Summerville, South Carolina, and Melinda Gallagher of New York City. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews: Corrine and Connor Gallagher of Stony Brook, New York; Kyle and Kevin Porter of Summerville, South Carolina; and Logan and Aria Kramer of New York City.
A memorial service for Mercedes Gallagher will be held Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2:15 p.m. at the Kelly Funeral Home in Lee with the Rev. Richard Hayes, hospice chaplain, officiating. Her family will greet friends from 1:30 p.m. until the time of the service. Anyone wishing may make donations in her memory to the Center Pond Weed Project in c/o the Kelly Funeral Home, 3 Main St., Lee, MA 01238. To send a donation, leave a message of condolence or share pictures, visit www.kellyfuneralhome.net.
