Galligan, Gerald M.

Gerald M. Galligan, 93, a resident of Canton for 64 years, died April 11, 2018 at Norwood Hospital. He was the husband of the late Margaret A. (Gubbins) Galligan, to whom he was happily married for 63 years, who together raised four sons and two daughters.

Mr. Galligan was born in Cambridge on July 4, 1924 to the late Thomas J. Galligan, Sr. and Winifred C. (McKeon) Galligan and was raised in Watertown. He was the youngest brother of both Thomas J. Galligan, Jr., formerly of Waban, and Robert W. Galligan, Sr., formerly of Sudbury. He attended St. Patrick’s grammar school in Watertown, BC High, Class of 1942, and Boston College, Class of 1949. All three brothers served proudly as U.S. Navy Intelligence officers during WWII with the two older brothers leaving to serve shortly after their mother’s death from Addison’s disease in October 1941, right before the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. These early events grounded Mr. Galligan and his brothers into a solid foundation of faith, hope, charity, courage, and love, sustaining them through to the end. Their Jesuit training reinforced their already deep, abiding love of God, family, country and town.

Mr. Galligan entered Boston College as a pre-med student in 1942 and was recruited his freshman year in 1943 to become a member of the U.S. Navy’s V-12 program at Brown University for one year, then attended Northwestern Midshipman School in Chicago and was commissioned a Naval ensign. From there he was trained at Harvard Communication School and Navy Advanced Line School and shipped to serve as a communication and Morse code officer, coding and decoding top secret messages in the Pacific and northern China. He became a recipient of the Pacific Theater Ribbon, China Service Ribbon, and American Victory Ribbon upon release to inactive duty in July 1946. Mr. Galligan then returned to finish his pre-med undergraduate degree at Boston College, graduating in 1949 while continuing to serve in the Naval Reserves. In his junior year at Boston College, he met Margaret, who resided in nearby Newtonville, and they married in August 1949 and headed to Washington, D.C., where Mr. Galligan began attendance at Georgetown Dental School. In September of 1949, Mr. Galligan was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG), USNR.

After several years in the Washington, D.C. area, the heartstring ties of family pulled Mr. and Mrs. Galligan home. Always loving the visits to his grandparents and close-knit relatives, they settled in the town of Canton where the Galligan heritage began from County Cavan, Ireland in the mid 1800s, planting roots nearly as strong as the old country. The original homestead in Canton still remains in relatives’ ownership. A recent test of Mr. Galligan’s ancestry confirmed he was 100 percent Irish. He and Mrs. Galligan were steadfast in keeping their ties to family and having their children come to know as many relatives as they could on both sides. But in 2004, at one of their family reunions, his nephews had the biggest find of all, bringing a distant relative who still lived in the original homestead in Ireland to the U.S. to attend. All were delighted to meet Sonny. The three Galligan brothers’ first cousin, Dan Keleher, our well-loved Canton family historian, and his two daughters also attended.

Gerald’s career spanned from Gilpin Pharmaceutical in Washington, D.C. and Fisher Scientific in Silver Spring, MD as a chemical buyer, next as sales manager at Barnstead Stills and Sterilizer in Boston and the former Cramer Electronics in Newton. Upon retirement, he assisted part time with his oldest son’s nuclear medical courier business for hospitals and other enterprises along the East Coast.

Similar to his father, Gerry enjoyed being active in local politics and community, first as one of the charter member founders of the Canton Lions Club, which he started with many of his close friends: Bill Connolly, Dick Boyle, Dr. George Gildea, Dr. William Staples, Brewster Gifford, and many others. He served as the second president of the club and various other positions over the years. As chairman of the free glaucoma clinics set up at Town Hall, one year over $66,000 was raised and donated to many of the top eye institutes. Many other fundraisers included selling light bulbs, tea bags, bubble gum machines, Christmas trees, a phenomenal circus held at Memorial field, which his father assisted in implementing, and many family spaghetti suppers. He also served several terms as trustee of the Canton Public Library, and as director and educator of St. John the Evangelist’s first CCD program. He was active assisting Canton Little League in his younger years, along with other organizations over the years. Recognizing the importance of voting, he campaigned for various candidates on a local, state, and national level such as Joe Moakley, several presidents, and many local candidates.

Mr. Galligan remained in decent health and had an extremely sharp mind his entire life. He was an avid reader, and always stayed current on local, national and world events. His recall with short- and long-term memory on any topic was remarkable, but especially for a gentleman of his age. Boston College football games, Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins games were a woven portion into the fabric of every Galligan. He was a quiet sort of fellow who truly loved connecting with the ethos of every human being he met. It will be hard to encounter a warmer, more honest, stoic, kind, generous, genuinely interested man again. A true gentleman as were his Dad and brothers, his role models. He is the last of our WWII family generation who served this country he loved so deeply. Gerry and his entire family’s most favorite holiday of the year was undoubtedly his birthday every year on July 4, from the time he was born was a gathering for him. In later years, celebrations mostly took place at his brother Bob’s Sudbury (zip code 01776) home. He will be greatly missed by many, but we are happy and comforted he will be reunited with his loving wife, Margaret, and beloved son, Donald, and all deceased relatives and friends.

Mr. Galligan cherished and was very proud of his six children: Gerald M. Galligan, Jr., Joseph L. Galligan, Kathleen M. Galligan, Susan E. Kane, and James E. Galligan, and the late Donald G. Galligan, and reveled in accomplishments of his 15 grandchildren, who brought him more pride and joy through his later years, 11 great-grandchildren, 39 beloved nieces and nephews, and many extended relatives and friends. He will be greatly missed. We thank all those Gerry was honored to come to know in his almost 94 years of life.

A mass of Christian burial will be held Thursday (today) at 10:30 a.m. in St. John the Evangelist Church in Canton. Interment VA National Cemetery in Bourne Thursday at 1:15 p.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, we sincerely appreciate your kindness to honor the town of Canton and its people he loved so passionately. Donations may be made in Gerald M. Galligan’s memory to either the Canton Veterans Services Department, the Canton Lions Club, or the Canton Public Library. Arrangements by the Dockray & Thomas Funeral Home, 455 Washington Street.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Apr 20 2018. Filed under Obituaries. Both comments and pings are currently closed.