Gerald "Gerry" Cahill Duggan

Gerald “Gerry” Cahill Duggan died peacefully on September 23 in Concord, Massachusetts. He was 82 years old.

Gerry was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on May 24, 1943, the son of Dr. George L. Duggan and Margaret Mary (Cahill) Duggan. He attended St. Stanislaus Grammar School, Keith Academy and then graduated from Lowell High School in 1961. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education from Salem State College, where he met his future wife, Jane Jellison.

Gerry spent his summers in Windham, New Hampshire, as a member of the Pine Terrace Association, where he made lifelong friends. He loved all kinds of physical activity: walking, swimming, fitness, softball at Pine Terrace and with “Our Gang” in Reading, and racquetball at the Lowell YMCA and Racquet Time in Acton. He was an avid golfer, always hitting them straight, and sometimes sticking to one club per round.

Gerry was an enthusiastic teacher and impacted the lives of many young people at Acton-Boxborough High School. He taught accounting, business math, keyboarding and a “life skills” course, where he introduced students to applying for a job, renting an apartment, buying a car, balancing a checkbook, and other essential skills. He ran the school’s job co-op program. Gerry brought senior year students to serve holiday meals in the Middlesex Shelter, where he was a frequent volunteer. He also taught at Middlesex Community College.

Being a teacher meant that Gerry had vacation weeks and summers to spend with his young family. Gerry and Jane married in 1967 and raised their three children – Jennifer, Matthew, and Sean – on Prescott Street in Reading. They spent fun, unstructured time in Windham, New Hampshire and Wells, Maine. Gerry introduced his children to his love of concerts, libraries and parks. He cooked big meals and collected recipes and spices in shoe boxes. He sometimes surprised his kids with an early dismissal from school for the movies. Gerry and Jane were wonderful parents and grandparents. They sat on the floor to play, went sledding, built lemonade stands, ran behind bicycles, attended recitals, visited classrooms, walked kids to church, and participated in sports.

Gerry and Jane were active parishioners at Saint Agnes Church in Reading. In later years, they lived in the happy community of Reading’s Summit Towers. Gerry was the friendly face at Reading Athletic Club’s welcome desk. They enjoyed traveling to Puerto Rico, Jensen Beach, Florida, and Ireland. Jane and Gerry were married 54 years when Jane passed in 2021.

Gerry was the father of Jennifer Duggan Albanese and her husband Charles, the late Matthew James Duggan and his surviving wife Jacqueline and Sean Duggan and his wife Elizabeth. Gerry was Grandpa to Nicole Albanese, Peter Albanese, John Duggan, Mary Duggan, Martha Duggan, Phoenix Duggan, Patrick Duggan, Jayson Duggan, and the late Matthew James and Dale Marie Duggan. He is survived by his brother George Duggan and his wife Anna, his sister Joanne Price and her husband Paul, and nieces and nephews whom he loved.

Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share memories with Gerry’s Family for visiting hours on Monday, September 29, 2025, from 4-7pm at Doherty Barile Family Funeral Home, 11 Linden Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Parking attendants and elevator are available.

A Funeral Mass Celebrating Gerry’s Eternal Life will be held on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 10:30am in Saint Agnes Church, 186 Woburn Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Interment will immediately follow at Charles Lawn Memorial Park in Reading.

In lieu of flowers the Duggan family requests donations be made in Gerry's name to The Nature Connection, an organization that brings the healing power of nature to memory-impaired elders, and others with limited access to the outdoors: www.nature-connection.org

For more information, www.facebook.com/BarileFamilyFuneralHome