Ellen Derbyshire Gallo, age 82 of Hollywood Fl., died Wednesday Jan. 1.
She was born to the late George W. Derbyshire Jr. and Anna German Derbyshire on March 13, 1932 in Derby CT.
Ellen, or Elre as she was called early in life, attended local schools in Ansonia and received a B.S. in Teaching from The New Haven State Teacher’s College and M.A. from Southern CT State University, later completing her Sixth-Year in Professional Education from the University of CT in 1960.
Ellen was a teacher in the Ansonia & New Haven Public Schools. Ellen was always a teacher at heart until she retired in 1982 and was passionate about making a difference in the lives of her students. She founded and served as Director of the Skill Center for the New Haven Adult Education Program overseeing programs teaching various trade skills and English as a second language and was honored frequently for her teaching and program activities.
She married Ovidio Gallo and lived in Orange, CT. before relocating to Hollywood, FL.
Ellen is survived by her son George D. Gallo and his wife Lisa. She loved good food and phone socializing, enjoyed listening to mystery novels on Books on Tape, never missing Jeopardy! And had a wonderful smile and laughing demeanor.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial donations be made to the American Diabetes Association, 2080 Silas Deane Highway, 2nd Fl. Rocky Hill, CT 06067.
A viewing will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 7 from 4:30p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at The Jenkins King & Malerba Funeral Home, 12 Franklin St. Ansonia. (www.jenkinskingfh.com) Burial will be private.
