Obituary of John F. Gallagher, Jr.

John Francis Gallagher, Jr., devoted husband, father, and grandfather, died peacefully at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital on August 25, 2017 at the age of eighty-three.

Son of the late John Francis Gallagher and Lillian Comber, Jack was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After attending Frankford High School, he served in the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) during the Korean War, following in the Naval footsteps of his father, and setting an honorable example for his children and grandchildren.

Jack earned a Bachelor's Degree from LaSalle University, a Master's Degree from the Pennsylvania State University, and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

A lifelong educator, Jack began his career teaching at LaSalle University, and earned the distinction as the university's first recipient of the prestigious Danforth Award. In 1969, Jack joined the faculty of SUNY Sullivan, a community he tirelessly served for thirty years – fourteen as Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and sixteen as Vice President and Dean of Faculty.

Jack loved his family, his faith, his books, and his home on top of South Hill in Grahamsville, New York in the Catskill Mountains, where he resided for forty-seven years. There he lived a life of sacrifice, selflessly serving his wife and children, and also his church and community. Upon retirement, Jack played an invaluable role in obtaining construction grants for the Daniel Pierce Library Building Campaign. Hand-in-hand with his wife Joann, who served as director of the library, he helped to oversee the library's state-of-the art expansion both in physical space and community programming.

Jack is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-nine years, Joann (Becker), and their six children and their families, including twenty-six grandchildren: Jack (LCDR, USN veteran) and Cindy Gallagher of Barboursville, Virginia, and their children Sean, Kaitlin, Patrick and John; Christopher (CAPT, USN retired) and Susan Gallagher of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and their children, Megan, Molly, and Morgan; Joann and Todd Jones of Atlanta, Georgia, and their children, Todd, Meredith and Emma; MaryAnn and Robert Swain of West Hartford, Connecticut, and their children, Robert (LT, USN), Jack (LTJG, USN), Ethan, and Andrew (MIDN, USNA); Katie and Lloyd Martinson of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and their children, Michael (LT, USN), Mary Kate and Patrick O'Boyle (1st Lt, USMC), Freya, James, Thomas, John Paul, Ellie, Lillian, and Daniel; Megan and Charles Richmond of Avon, Connecticut, and their children, Rhiannon, Gabrielle and Matthew, and his brother Paul Gallagher of Ocean City, New Jersey. He was predeceased by his brothers Mark and Joseph and grandson Christopher Swain.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Jack's nephew, the Reverend Charles Mark Gallagher, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Woodbourne, New York on Saturday, September 2, 2017 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Michael's Cemetery, Ulster Heights Road, Ellenville, New York.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Daniel Pierce Library, P.O. Box 268, Grahamsville, New York 12740, or the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, 4597 Warren Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105.

Arrangements under the direction of Colonial Memorial Funeral Home for further information call 845-434-7363 or visit www.colonialbryantfuneralhome.com