CHARLESTOWN. N.H. – On Jan. 15, 2026, Margaret Rose Palmer “Peggy” Gallagher passed away after a long illness, surrounded by her daughters. Born on Dec. 5, 1950, to Isabel (Thomas Ross) and Walter Palmer, she was raised in Charlestown, N.H. She was a cheerleader at Fall Mountain Regional High School and went on to the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., where she received her bachelor’s degree. After graduation, she worked as a social worker until she had her two daughters, Shannon and Erin.
Peggy was active in the community, in her children’s schools, and at church. She was a parishioner of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church and was instrumental in the Foster Grandparents Organization. While her children were in school, she worked as an aide at many local elementary schools. She loved her family, cooking, listening to music (singing along to it off key), animals of all kinds, fashion, sewing, movies, popular culture, and whatever her daughters’ interests were.
She is preceded in death by her parents, and survived by her daughters, Shannon and Erin Gallagher; sister, Catherine (Palmer) Armstrong; two grandsons, Rex Walter and Timothy Oscar McQueen; one nephew; and seven nieces.
A memorial service will be held for Peggy on Friday, July 10, at 9:30 a.m., at the Charlestown Memorial Chapel in Charlestown, N.H. A Mass will follow at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, at 11 a.m., with a graveside service immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for contributions to be made in her name to your favorite mental health, children’s, or animal charity, or the PTA at her grandson’s school, Grady A. Brown Elementary in Hillsborough, N.C.