Regina Cecilia Gallagher

Regina (Jean) Gallagher (nee Fuhs) from Exton, PA passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, after a courageous battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Born July 17, 1944, Jean was the daughter of John and Mary Fuhs of Drexel Hill, PA. She graduated from Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls in 1962 and went on to receive her Bachelor in Science in 1966 from Immaculata University and later a Master in Science with a focus on Nutrition and Child Development in 1988. 

Jean began her career as a buyer in the fashion industry with a background in garment design and fabrication in the late ’60s. Like many women of her generation, she left the workforce after marriage and focused on raising her three children.  In 1986 Jean returned to the workforce as a teacher at Kennett High School. She taught Home Economics and served as the Stage Manager for the Music Theater Program. It was at Kennett where her passion for cooking inspired many students to pursue professional careers in culinary arts. She created several original courses including World Foods which she used to teach young emerging adults world cultures and inspire an appreciation for diverse traditions through cooking. She was known throughout the school district for her incredible homemade cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels which she generously gifted annually to her coworkers, friends, and family. Jean was very proud of her students. With her guidance and training, many of them were accepted to prestigious culinary schools in the United States including Johnson and Wales, Culinary Institute of America, and the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. Several of her high school students returned to Chester County and opened their own restaurants years later. The Chefs she inspired loved Jean for her sense of humor and no-nonsense attitude in her classroom kitchen.  If she happened to be spotted at one of her former student’s restaurants, the owners would stop dinner service, come out of the kitchen and celebrate her publicly calling her “Mrs. G” with the same excitement one would greet a celebrity. 

Jean lived a full life, having spent her best years with her partner Pat “Ozzy” Osmi of Springfield traveling in pursuit of the best restaurant experiences in North America. She was an avid player of Bridge at the YMCA and participated in adult education courses on her favorite subjects: History, Film Noir, and 20th-century literature. Jean’s fun attitude and carpe diem lifestyle developed after her eldest son Christopher Gallagher tragically died in 1992 at 20 years old. She looked forward to reuniting with him in her next life.  

Jean is survived by her two children John T. Gallagher of West Chester PA and Madeleine Gallagher of Los Angeles CA, her brother and sister in law Thomas and Trish Fuhs of Cape May, NJ, brothers John Fuhs and William Fuhs and their respective families.

Jean was extremely proud of her son John and his wife Jennifer Harris Gallagher for raising her 5 wonderful grandchildren: Jack, Aidan, Declan, Kellan and Shea Gallagher. Jean will be very much missed by her surviving partner Pat Osmi and his children, son-in-law, nieces, and grandchildren. 

Relatives and friends are invited to her memorial on Friday morning, October 22. Visitation from 10:00am to 11:00am at the Logan Funeral Home, 698 E. Lincoln Hgwy, Exton Pa. The ceremony will begin at 11 am. Internment is to follow privately at Northwood Cemetery, Downingtown, PA.