Obituary of Thomas M. Galligan

Thomas M. Galligan, age 86, of died Tuesday, December 24, 2019. He was employed by Local 14 as an Operating Engineer. He is survived by his beloved wife Patricia (Eisenhauer) Galligan, his children Thomas (Lori) Galligan, Jr. and Kerry Ann (Bennett) Katz. Also survived by his beloved dog Molly. Friends may call on Sunday from 1PM to 5PM at Sinatra Memorial Home, Inc., 499 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers, NY. The funeral will be Monday at 10:30 at Sinatra Memorial Home, Inc., 499 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers. I never thought that I would be spending the height of this holiday season reflecting on dad’s life of adventures and yes, some miss-adventures while the words my father is dead repeats in the recesses of my mind like a tune you cannot let go of; or maybe it is so foreign it will not let go of me yet. Nonetheless, the truth is that dad did die without warning on Christmas Eve and his life deserves this time of reflection and the sorrow it manifests. Our father believed in “A GENTLEMAN’S DEATH”. A death so sudden in the midst of a good day that all of your energy explodes into heaven ready for the next adventure before the physical form comes to rest. It is the death he wished for all he cared for and the death we are very grateful he was granted. Our tears are for ourselves and the hoped for times and travels that must remain unmanifest. Even in this he is teaching us. Life with all its chaotic “to do’s” challenges all of us to prioritize the “to do” of fellowship and community. We are all of us worth spending time with or we are not. It is that simple. We all have to make that decision for ourselves. We are all tasked with making time for those we call family and friends and further following word with action. Moving forward, action will be the lesson taken from today. That may be either comforting or frightening, but you will be hearing from us. No one will ever doubt how precious they are to us or how valued. Through his formative years (the majority of his childhood) dad grew up in a catholic home for children. This experience gave him a life long love of sports. Playing softball, football, and amateur boxing into adulthood making one of the first toys my father bought when his son was born a football and baseball bat. He was a dad, and to a son. Our mother had very little to do with this spectacular event at that moment. A son, with whom he joyfully anticipated years of shared ball field moments as fundamentals coach, little league coach to Thomas and his friends and Hockey season encouraging his Thomas Jr on the ice. To fully round out his sports education dad purchased NY Giants season tickets and may have occasionally had some money on the game. These formative years also resulted in a very basic understanding of marriage and family life that crystalized in his meeting and marrying our mom who he insisted was the best thing that happened in his life. Having a home and a family of his own that he provided for was a dream come true. After living through the depression, he showed his love through hard work and providing for his family. My father was up and out each morning by 5:30am regardless of lack of sleep or the occasional pint. Hard work and the understanding that commitment to employer to fulfill shelter, food, and clothing for his family was an example he lived and imprinted on his children. While dad was thrilled to have a daughter to complete his family it was not until he was retired making him the perfect person to take custody of me after I had a catastrophic spine injury in 1997. This multiple year odyssey gave us the time to really get to know each other as he helped dress me, put on my shoes, and brought lunch up the stairs I could not walk. This time together was one of the greatest gifts of this experience and luckily I was smart enough to realize it as it was happening.There were special moments such as teaching us to ride bikes, a little less special for my big brother when a tree brought home the correct stopping method. But nothing really trumps the Christmas our dad heard about a puppy and convinced mom that such a small dog would be the way to go. That Christmas Eve was so momentous I still remember the coat I was wearing when we picked up that small ball of warmth who had all four of us wrapped around her petite paw by Christmas Morning. The impact that St Philip Neiri on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx had on us or that it was one of the greatest gifts provided by our parents cannot be overstated. Not surprise Christmas puppy great but Buttons was a very tough canine act to follow who lived into our early twenties. Stressing the fundamentals that would place us on a firm footing as students and as individuals with a clear understanding that good and bad, right and wrong, kindness and brutality, and compassion and charity all not only exist but that the knowledge of each has value for their own sake. The hours of homework provided dad and I much quality time together, as I waited until Sunday evening for scholastic pursuit, driving my father to want to pull his hair out; especially during football season. Thank God for that thick Irish head of hair. I just wasn’t being challenged and that is the story that I am going to stick to. Unlike my older brother, I had yet to develop the maturity to do the right thing and get the job done, regardless of my level of challenge or desire. One of dad’s favorite questions to us when we were in a grey area was, “don’t you have any respect for yourself”? Our parents always brought it home that the first and most important monitor of our behavior and standards is always ourselves. Life lessons began early and became a part of who we are as individuals in our human community. Dad did not have the opportunity to enjoy higher education, but was an avid reader of multiple daily NY News Papers beginning with what dad enjoyed referring to as the Irish Sports Pages as he checked the obituaries in the Daily News and leisurely finished with the New York Times. He had equal parts library love and Barnes and Noble disdain, and he made sure his children appreciated what a magical adventure a book could be. He worked hard and never forgot the people who opened doors for him to proudly represent union members in NY. Paying it forward in any way he could was his pleasure as he never took for granted his personal starting line. His only caveat to those he was able to assist was to continue the thread and to pay it forward as and when they could. If you are in a position to help someone help them; you may need help yourself. No ulterior motivation, no payoff or personal benefit. This is not to imply that our father was just the milk of human kindness. He was very human which made our more human moments far easier to discuss. Dad told you what he truly thought, ready or not. It will come as no surprise to others celebrating how he touched our lives that when asked if he liked his future son-in-law days before the wedding he answered by asking, “why do I have to like him? I’m not marrying him!“ An answer that expressed how little he knew him but left plenty of room for a more final verdict. Regardless, he was instrumental in Bennett entering the Local 3 electrical apprenticeship. He did it for me and my new husband. After getting to know the man instead of just the son-in-law he thought of and loved Bennett as a son. Or that years later by the time Thomas married, he liked Lori immediately. Then again, Thomas found his lady love when he was older and still living at home. However, true to form over time as dad got to know Lori witnessing first hand their friendship and love she was a daughter. For years dad rested in the comfort that we were blessed in our spouses and our future happiness was secure. While Thomas Michael Galligan is gone from this earth his legacy is in all of us. The life lessons he taught his children evolved into the knowledge of who we wanted to be and who we did not want to be; valuable lessons that we live everyday. The wife who shared a life with him for 58 years. The family and friends he was equally loyal and devoted to and as he got older never hesitated to end a conversation with by declaring his love. We all know how much he loved telling a good joke and that the age of the joke never affected the laughter. On the most important issues in his life, dad had no unfinished business. He exemplified living what you believe, treating people the way you want to be treated, education for education sake, love of animals, and fellowship for their own sake. Those he loved knew it, those who needed a word or anything that he could provide or assist with knew he would make himself available. His life was rich; he knew he was loved well and he loved well. Kerry was nice enough to write up a thoughtful and touching tribute to my father. I was always amazed how many people in construction knew my father, not only his peers, but their children when they entered the business. My father was both well known and well liked. If my father had one story, he had a thousand and all of them true. He was known to hang out in a bar once in a while. I thought at one point that every bar in the Bronx had one of his clocks. I am not adopted, I am my father’s son, sometimes the apple does not fall far from the tree, sometimes it does not fall off the tree. I have his positive qualities and those that could use improvement. Lori and I have lived in Marietta for over 20 years so I talk to Mom and Dad at least once a week and we come up to see both sides of the family at Christmas. I will miss talking to him. I will miss hearing his take on a subject. I know that he was very proud of Kerry and I. Sometimes in life you realize that things could not have been any other way, that it was destiny. I could not envision a life without my wife Lori, my mother Pat, my sister Kerry, my brother-in-law Bennett and being Tommy Galligan’s son. Thanks, Tom Galligan