[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 12 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E73-E74]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF MARY AUDREY GALLAGHER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 19, 2018

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and 
service of Mary Audrey Gallagher. An educator, advocate, and proud 
mother, Audrey passed away peacefully on January 4, 2018, after 
enjoying time with her loved ones during the holidays. Audrey's life 
truly embodied the spirit of a hard-working, loving Irish American, as 
she nurtured strong bonds in her communities while fighting for the 
rights of the disenfranchised. Born on September 6, 1932, Audrey's 
honesty and integrity were formally recognized when she graduated from 
The Mary Louis Academy in Queens, New York, with the Character, 
Loyalty, and Spirit of Study Award, one of the academy's highest 
honors.
  Upon graduating high school, Audrey attended and graduated from St. 
John's University, where she was captain of the school's Cheerleading 
Squad. After leaving a lasting mark on her campus community as a 
promising prospective instructor, she became a public school teacher. 
Some years later, Audrey married Warren Dromm. Her son, my dear friend 
and now-New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm, was born soon after. 
She was also mother to Lori, Marybeth, John, and Joseph. Her exemplary 
record of service continued, and after opening a nursery school, Audrey 
went on to become the director of multiple day care centers in New York 
City. She was instrumental in unionizing workers and she helped secure 
much-needed pay raises for paraprofessionals. Her courage and 
dedication changed lives . Audrey's support of her son, an openly-gay 
man, greatly advanced the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) community through his advocacy and by founding the 
Queens chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays 
(PFLAG), of which Audrey was an active participant.
  Audrey, along with Daniel and PFLAG-founder Jeanne Manford, worked to 
use their voices to fight the good fight against bigotry and 
intolerance in Queens and throughout New York City. But her support did 
not stop there--Audrey became a venerable presence in the Queens LGBT 
community, attending parades, advising the parents of LGBT youth, and 
wholeheartedly supporting her son in his own endeavors to improve 
Queens. Having served as PFLAG's Queens Hospitality Chairperson, Audrey 
believed in the special role that parents of LGBT children play. It is 
evident that her love for her son helped make

[[Page E74]]

him the strong advocate he is today for the people of Jackson Heights 
and Elmhurst.
  Mary Audrey Gallagher's energy and light is forever memorialized in 
the LGBT parents and children that can find support in her community 
today, and in children of her own. She is survived by Daniel, Marybeth, 
John, and Joseph. Audrey served as a remarkable example that love can, 
and should, triumph, and that there are few undertakings more rewarding 
than devotion to family and civic service. A Queens heroine, equal-
rights crusader, and loving Irish-American mom, Audrey will be missed. 
I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Mary 
Audrey Gallagher. May she rest in peace.

                          ____________________