Kathleen Beatrice Galletly

Kathleen Beatrice “Kathy” Galletly (nee Fezza) passed away on October 27, 2025, at her home in Parsippany, New Jersey, after a brief but brave battle with cancer.

Born April 23, 1947, in Passaic, New Jersey. Kathy graduated from Passaic High School in 1965 and married William Galletly of Passaic in 1968. Kathy and William had two children, Michael “Mike” Galletly and Kim (Galletly) Sorrentino, MS-HNFM. Kathy and William divorced after their children were grown but remained friends until William’s passing in June of 2010. Kathy was always considered a member of the extended Galletly family, including her sisters-in-law May (Galletly) LoCascio and Lynn (Galletly) Dianas, their children, and grandchildren.

Kathy is predeceased by her father Joseph “Barney” Fezza, mother, Frieda (Davis) Fezza, and older brother Jeffrey Fezza. Kathy is survived by her children, Mike and Kim, Mike’s partner Melissa Challan and her “bonus son” Vincent Sorrentino (Kim’s husband). Extended surviving family members include, from her father’s side, her cousins Beatrice Fezza Fisch and family in Arkansas, and Antionette MacCormack and her three children, including Kathy’s beloved Godson Joseph Deronde, all now living in Virginia. Kathy’s cousins from her mother’s side, Maryann Davis-Perry, and Sharon Kay (Davis) Horvath will also remember Kathy fondly.

Kathy was an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and met many close friends associated with the Post-Polio Network, including Ellen Lehman, John and June Centonze, Marcia Josephson and the late Dr. Richard Bruno. For almost 25 years, Kathy lived in the Baldwin Oaks apartments for senior and disabled persons. Quite the social butterfly, Kathy’s apartment in Baldwin Oaks was often referred to as “party central.” She loved to help organize social gatherings and often relished the times her group went to different restaurants.

Lastly, her love of wine, the arts (particularly the ballet), the Rolling Stones, and her British murder mysteries, kept her young at heart and always smiling.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 31, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Marrocco Memorial Chapel, 470 Colfax Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey 07013.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you kindly consider a donation in Kathleen’s name to https://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/donate/ or https://post-polio.org/support-us/donate/