Donald Raymond Gallehr

Donald Raymond Gallehr, born November 20, 1941, passed away on March 7, 2026 at his home in Warrenton, Virginia, at the age of 84.

Raised in Walden, New York, with his siblings Joan Winslow, Barbara Slank, and Richard Gallehr, Don attended St. Bonaventure University and pursued graduate studies at Fordham University. In 1966 he accepted a teaching position at the University of Virginia’s satellite campus in Fairfax, which later became George Mason University. While teaching there, he completed his PhD at Catholic University. Over the next 55 years at GMU, he taught writing and literature to more than 11,000 students.

In 1977 Don founded the Northern Virginia Writing Project, which he directed for more than four decades, and later served as Co-Director of the National Writing Project. He successfully advocated before Congress to secure federal funding for the organization. He also led writing workshops for corporations, government agencies, and summer programs in Great Britain and Hong Kong. A dedicated scholar and teacher, he published two books, “Finished Business: Taking Care of a Loved One With a Terminal Illness” and “Be Gentle,” along with hundreds of articles. In 2008 he received both George Mason University’s Teaching Excellence Award and the David J. King Award for his contributions to educational excellence.

Daily meditation was a central part of Don’s life. In 2010 he traveled to northern India to teach a month-long writing workshop to 33 Buddhist monks at the request of the Dalai Lama. He met his first wife, Diana Batch Gallehr, at St. Bonaventure University. Together they raised their three children in an old turn-of-the-century house on High Street in Warrenton, which Don lovingly renovated. After Diana’s death, he shared the last 27 years with his wife Ceres Artico. Their home, known affectionately as “Chez Gallehr,” welcomed friends for gourmet meals, dinner parties, yoga, and meditation gatherings. Don and Ceres traveled extensively together, visiting Belgium, Brazil, the Caribbean, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, India, Mexico, and Portugal.

A lifelong learner, Don enjoyed photography, portraiture, making furniture, and fixing things. In the late 1990s he discovered a passion for baking bread, and his homemade loaves—fondly called “Granddaddy Bread” by his grandchildren—became a beloved gift to family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Even in his final years while living with Parkinson’s, he remained active, walking more than 10,000 steps a day through Warrenton, always greeting others with a smile and his bright blue eyes, picking up stray trash, and pausing to visit with shopkeepers and the bookstore cat.

Don is survived by his wife, Ceres Artico; his sister, Barbara Slank; his children, Marisa Faunce, John Gallehr, and Brendan Gallehr; his sons-in-law, Bryon Miracle and Glen Faunce; his daughter-in-law, Tracy Gallehr; and his eight grandchildren, Madeleine Faunce, Nicholas Gallehr, Alexander Gallehr, Benjamin Faunce, Ethan Gallehr Miracle, Eric Gallehr Miracle, Mitchell Gallehr, and Elliot Gallehr Miracle.