Colleen Paul

Colleen A.(Gallagher) Paul, 78, of Butte, formerly of Charlo, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, at the respiratory hospital in Post Falls, Idaho, after a prolonged battle with cardiopulmonary illness. Colleen was born on Nov. 9, 1933, in Charlo to Mabel and Frank Gallagher. The seventh child in a family of 13 children, she was raised on the family farm west of Charlo. She graduated from Charlo High School in 1952. After high school, she worked at Holy Family Hospital in St. Ignatius for two years, and then attended the College of Great Falls where she studied business and office administration. In 1957, she married the late John Paul and settled in Butte. In the early 1970s, Colleen returned to college, earning a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate in history from the University of Montana-Western. She taught for a few years in Arlee and in Butte before returning to Western to receive a master's degree in library science. She then returned to work as a librarian in Butte, finishing her teaching career at Butte's East Middle School in 2010. Colleen had no children of her own, but she often spoke of the students that she helped get through the educational maze as her children. Colleen's closest affiliation was with her church. She was a parishioner at both St. John's Parish and St. Ann's Parish in Butte. Colleen was preceded in death by John Paul: by her parents, Frank and Mabel Gallagher, and by five sibling, sisters, Betty Ann, Genevieve (Genie) and Mabel (Doll), and brothers, George and Seumas (Jim), and many other relatives and friends. She is survived and missed by her sisters, Fran Keith, Patricia Ague, Rita Runkel and Ethel McCready: her brothers, John, Ed, and Dan Gallagher: by many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends: and by her special longtime friend, Norman Slette. A rosary-vigil service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at the Charlo Catholic Church, followed by the Funeral Mass at 1 p.m. Burial will be in Mountain View/Calvary Cemetery in Ronan. A reception will follow at the church. Grogan Funeral Home and Crematory considers it a privilege to care for the Paul family. Messages of condolences may be sent to the family online at www.groganfuneralhome.com.
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