Gala Gamallo

Gala Gamallo, of Slidell, Louisiana, died peacefully in her sleep at home on Monday, May 3, 2021. She was born on December 20, 1923, at Westfield, Mass., where she lived until her family emigrated to Spain during the Great Depression. Having lived through the harrowing Spanish Civil War and near-starvation, Gala returned to the United States in 1949 after the deaths of her parents, Benito and Laureanna Beibide. Gala moved to Newark, N.J., where she and her husband, Manuel Gamallo Sr., established their longtime home and watched their four children grow into successful lives. In their retirement years, Gala and her husband moved to Slidell in 1986, joining their two daughters and families living there. She was an avid member of Slidell's Foreign-Born Wives Club, where she made a bevy of long-lasting friendships. Her husband died June 1995 after a long illness. A friend to all, those who knew Gala described her as a vivacious person, endowed with an infectious smile and laughter, along with a gentle and loving demeanor. And she never said "no" to a party, nor did she ever turned down the chance to dance. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by three brothers, one sister, a great-grandson and two nephews.She is survived by two sons, Manny Gamallo and wife, Kay, of Sand Springs, Okla., and Santi Gamallo and wife, Elena, of Bayville, N.J.; two daughters, Isabel Gamallo, along with Donald Bourgeois, both of Slidell, and Gala Gamallo Daftary and husband, Dr. Mahmoud Daftary, of New Orleans; along with nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at St. Genevieve Catholic Church, 58203 LA-433, Slidell LA 70460.

Visitation will begin at the church at 9:00am followed by the funeral mass at 11:00am.  Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Slidell.