Beryl W. (Wheeler) Gallant

Brunswick-Beryl Wheeler Gallant, 97, long-time resident of Bath, died Sunday, October 4, 2020 at Avita of Brunswick.

      She was born in Calais, ME, a daughter of Lewis M. and Lucretia C. (Gormley) Wheeler.  She graduated with honors from Calais Academy in 1940, and from the Holy Rosary Business College in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick (Canada) in 1941.

     After working in business in Boston, MA, she entered the Bath Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and became a Registered Nurse in 1944.  She was class president, and later served as President of the Bath Memorial Hospital Nurses Association.  She continued her education with specialized nursing courses and completed 2 years of college at the University of Maine.

     Following a nursing rotation in New York City, she became Head Nurse at the Pine Tree Society for Crippled Children & Adults at the Hyde Home in Bath which became a leading institution fighting the polio epidemic in Maine.  She also worked as an Office Nurse for Dr. M.W. Westermeyer and then Dr. Richard Clark, an Industrial Nurse at the Bath Iron Works First Aid Department, a School Nurse in the Brunswick School System, and the Director of the Stroke Resocialization Program upon returning to the Pine Tree Society.  She received a special letter of appreciation from the State of Maine for the Nurse’s Aide training program she taught.  She revived her interest in business and became a successful Real Estate Agent for over 20 years before retiring in her late 70s.

      Always active in her community, Beryl had been President & long-time member of the local Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.  In her later years, she received the Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor Award for her service to the Bath Area Senior Citizens Activity Center, where she was elected the first female President.  She served two non-consecutive terms in that role, as well as several terms on the Board of Directors, and many years on the Activities Committee, including as Chair.  Her fundraising contributions included organizing style shows and bake-sales and co-founding the annual Christmas Fairs.  She started their Newsletter in 1995 and continued to edit it for over 20 years. 

     She is predeceased by her husband, George W. Gallant of Bath, her sister, Olga Nason of Woolwich, and her parents, and her step-mother, Edith Wheeler of Calais. 

     She is survived by her daughter, Tamara Gallant and husband Frederic Robin currently living in Ewing, NJ, by her son, Tom Gallant and wife Nina of Winthrop, ME, by her granddaughter, Megan Gallant of Kansas City, MO, and by granddaughters Stacey and husband Guy Hinkley, Tammy and husband Bob Conner, and great grandchildren Amber and husband Bjorn Coyne, Shelbie and husband Andy Braithwood, and Lakin Conner, and great-great grandchildren, Elyse, Jac-Lynne, Emma and Bradley, all of Winthrop, ME.

     A graveside service will be held at Riverside Cemetery in Woolwich at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Bath Area Senior Citizens Activity Center, 45 Floral Street, Bath, ME 04530.  Arrangements are by Daigle Funeral Home, 819 High Street, Bath. Condolences may be made online at www.Daiglefuneralhome.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Beryl W. (Wheeler) Gallant, please visit our floral store.