Obituary of John M. Galayda

John Matthew Galayda, a lifelong resident of Hastings-on-Hudson, died on December 1, 2014. He was 97. John was born on December 9, 1916 to Joseph and Anna Galayda. He was a man of numbers, who found beauty and creative pleasure in mathematics. Numbers seemed to have been always flowing through his head: lottery numbers, baseball batting averages, important dates and times, and phone numbers — just to name a few. He balanced his checkbook and stock portfolio in his head. His obsession with mathematics kept him out of the infantry and out of harm's way after enlisting in the Army during World War II. Despite only having a high school education (Hastings High School Class of 1934), he scored extremely well in a mathematics exam during basic training and was assigned to work with mathematicians behind American lines, computing complex algorithms to figure out where ballistics were being fired from behind enemy lines. Apart from traveling throughout Europe during the War, John always found great happiness and simplicity at home in Hastings-on-Hudson. He was a tireless worker and even began work as a golf caddy as a young boy, walking over an hour to the Ardsley Country Club each day. After high school, and after the War, he spent his career as a foreman of the tinning department at Anaconda Wire and Cable Company, just as his father did before him. Days before shipping out to war, John married Helen Shuluk on October 25, 1943. Together, they spent 53 wonderful years together until Helen's passing in 1997. A kind, decent, loving man with a sharp wit and a soft heart, John will be missed by those who had the gift of knowing him.? John is survived by his two children: daughter Janice Drago of Tennessee and son John Joseph Galayda, who selflessly served as his father's caretaker for the past 12 years. Also surviving John, is his three grandchildren: Lyndsey Drago, Alison Galayda, and John Stephen Galayda. Wake services to be held on Wednesday December 3 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hastings Funeral Home, 15 Spring Street in Hastings-on-Hudson. Mass of Christian Burial to be held on Thursday, December 4 at 10 a.m. at St. Matthews Church, 616 Warburton Avenue in Hastings-on-Hudson.