An Our Lady of Lourdes Daycare worker helps a child place a crown of flowers upon a statue of Our Lady during a May Crowning event in this undated photo. COURTESY OF FREDA O’BRYAN
‘We had so much fun’
Lourdes daycare co-founders reminisce favorite memories
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Jennifer Galloway recently received a message that brought back a memory and made her laugh.
The text was from a woman who was Baptist and whose son, many years ago, had attended Our Lady of Lourdes Daycare in Owensboro, which Galloway had helped open in 1986 with fellow parishioner Freda O’Bryan.
The story went that since the daycare taught the children typical Catholic prayers, this little boy was eager to pray on Sunday at his church.
“He stood up, made the sign of the cross, and said the Hail Mary!” said Galloway. While this was not a usual prayer for those of the Baptist faith, the boy’s mother was amused and loved telling the story.
The news that the daycare program would conclude on July 31, 2025, prompted the mom to reach out to Galloway and share the warm ecumenical memory from years past.
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish announced this summer that the daycare would be closing after a long period of discernment and review. Like many early childhood centers across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic, “despite the dedicated efforts of our staff and leadership, continuing operations is no longer financially sustainable,” the parish stated in a press release.
Following the bittersweet announcement, O’Bryan and Galloway, as co-founders of the daycare, sat down with The Western Kentucky Catholic on Aug. 14, 2025 to reminisce about the program’s nearly 40 years of ministry.
“From the start, it was all about the mission,” said O’Bryan.
In this undated photo, Our Lady of Lourdes Daycare students recite the Pledge of Allegiance during an Independence Day activity. COURTESY OF FREDA O’BRYAN
O’Bryan said she was working for the Owensboro city schools at the time when she and Galloway, a stay-at-home-mom at the time, were hired by pastor Fr. Delma Clemons to start the daycare.
“There were six kids at the beginning,” said Galloway, explaining that the daycare program began in a single classroom.
They said the daycare’s cook, Angie McCarty, provided nourishing food for the children – including shamrock cookies for St. Patrick’s Day, a cake at Christmastime to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, and a Thanksgiving party for the daycare families.
“We had a Thanksgiving feast each year, invited all the parents, and the kids made the decorations,” said O’Bryan. “There were always tears when it was a child’s last year to attend (when graduating the daycare).”
Christmas festivities included the children “learning lines” to recite at a family program, and singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus when serving “his” cake.
Another favorite memory was the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which was regularly covered by local media as the children wore green outfits and marched around the campus.
O’Bryan said Galloway was responsible for teaching many of the daycare children to jump rope, roller skate, and ride a bike. The daycare also made regular visits to the church so the kids could say hello to Jesus.
While the two women acknowledged the sadness of the end of an era, they said they were grateful for the time together, the children and families they served, and the supportive parish community.
And to this day, graduates of the daycare will still approach them in public and ask, “Do you remember me?” to the women who cared for them in their earliest formative years.
“We had so much fun; it was like it wasn’t a job,” said O’Bryan.
Jennifer Galloway (left) and Freda O’Bryan are seen together on Aug. 14, 2025. The two co-founded Our Lady of Lourdes Daycare in Owensboro in 1986. COURTESY OF FREDA O’BRYAN
Originally printed in the September 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
