FISH food bank mourns loss of 'cereal lady'

The staff and volunteers at Friends In Service Helping are mourning the loss this week of one of their most prolific donors, Maxine Beck-Gallagher.

Affectionately known around the FISH food bank as the "cereal lady" for her donations of cereal during the past four years, Gallagher died Tuesday in her Carson City home, said Tony Zehring, distribution manager for the food bank.

"She dropped off 100 boxes of cereal every week throughout the year for the past four years, which is a significant amount," Zehring said.

"It was just amazing to me, and all of us were devastated, not just for the loss of the cereal she provided, but because she was such a sweetheart. Hundreds of families literally were able to enjoy their bowls of cereal every day because of her," Zehring said.

He estimates that Gallagher's donation was probably worth about $1,500 a month.

"She never really made a big deal out of it. She was very unassuming, but we wanted her family to know what a dear she was, and that her generosity was noteworthy to us," Zehring said.