“Mellow, the moonlight, to shine is beginning.”
Annie Nan Given Gallagher, whose idiosyncratic sense of humor entertained those who knew her on two continents, died at 11:05 p.m. Feb. 26 after her frail body could no longer contend with the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91.
Born on Aug. 9, 1925, in the town she loved, Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland, she was the last survivor of 11 children of Thomas “Faddy” and Theresa “Muddy” Boyle Given.
Although universally known as Nan, she was given the name Annie by her godmother to save her from being named Gabriella. It was the first of many humorous tales she would tell of herself. She went by the nickname “Nan.” as she would say “a short little name for a short little person.”
She was preceded in death by her parents; 10 siblings; husband, B.A. Gallagher; infant children, Norman and Eileen; son Thomas (Trish) of Barboursville; and beloved nephew Tommy Given (Drenda) of White Sulphur Springs. Married in Ardara on Nov. 15, 1943, she made her way to England twice, where she worked briefly in factories before returning home, then emigrated from Ireland, with two infant children (Tom and Andy), aboard the Franconia and arrived in New York on March 23, 1954. The Gallaghers soon moved to White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., and it was in this lovely Greenbrier County town that they made their life. Mr. Gallagher was 35 at the time and they were embarking on a whole new life in a new world whose streets ultimately were paved with gold for them.In the late 1950s, Nan began a 30-year career as a waitress at The Greenbrier Hotel, where her rich sense of humor made her a favorite with both the guests and staff. She never knew a stranger and shared her tales with the wealthy as well as the poor. She never lost her Irish accent or the bright twinkle in her eyes. She became an American citizen on Nov. 5, 1964. She frequently returned to Ardara, where she often wistfully was recalled to us by strangers who knew her as the most beautiful girl from the town. She never forgot her humble roots and her humorous stories were only her retelling of true-life events of friends and neighbors she saw growing up. Her tales vividly and humorously turned these simple folk into everyone’s neighbors so the stories resonated with all listeners. No matter the Irish names, everyone knew somebody she was talking about. And the sad truth is all those old characters, too numerous to name here, die with her memory. She saw humor in the meanest of situations and banished distress with her funny reconstructions of the most-difficult matters. No person was safe from her parodies and she held no sacred cows. All people and events were fodder for her humor. Her comments could be touching the most troubling of subject matter, but put in a way she offended no one. No one left her company without a hearty laugh, a dry eye or without begging for more. She never lacked for friends and never had an enemy. From the tale of her chicken-eating honeymoon trip to Dublin to the story of the man in Narin who grabbed the tail of the cow and suffered the consequences as he danced through the muddy field because he could not let go, Ireland and the United States have lost a matchless humorist. She made sure we never “footered” in daily life and kept us from “soodling” in water. A family gathering never took place that she did not conjure up a new Irish word that none of us ever heard before. She never took a drink in her life. She had special feelings for animals, with whom she shared a deep bond. She was a lover of life. Unwilling to give up until the last breath was pressed from her, in her fading days, she repeatedly and miraculously rallied beyond all expert expectations.
“Will ye go, lassie, go?”
She is survived by sons, Andrew (Deanna) of Charleston; Brian (Kathy) of Huntington; and daughter, Nuala (Duane Morgan) Gallagher of Arden, N.C.; Daughter in law Trish (Tom) Gallagher of Huntington; granddaughters, Erin of South Charleston and Annie Gallagher of Charleston, Hillary Jordan of Morgantown, Heather Kessler of Milton, and Andrew Hornyak of El Paso, Texas; and five great-grandchildren, Colin, Cara and Claire Snuffer, Connell McCauley and Tristin Kessler.
Special thanks to Stacey Smith and Amy Greear of Kanawha Hospice Care, whose loving care made her last two years more comfortable. Thanks to Mary Young and the staff of Eastbrook Nursing Home in Kanawha City for their care of Mom.
Funeral services will be: 11a.m. March 4 at St. Charles Borromeo Church, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., with the Rev. Jim Conyers officiating. Burial will follow in the churchyard. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. March 3 at the church. Online condolencesmay be made at www.wicklinefuneralhome.com
“Gone Home to the Hills of Donegal”
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local animal shelter or The Alzheimer Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th floor, New York, NY 10001
Funeral arrangements by Wickline Funeral Home of Lindside, WV

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