We Remember
GALLAGHER, William “Bill” John
January 1, 1970 — January 1, 1970
William “Bill” Gallagher passed away peacefully on January 20, 2020 with family by his side. He will be lovingly remembered and terribly missed by: his three daughters Donna Gallagher, Kathy Cherry and Brenda Gallagher, and his son, Brian Gallagher (Annelle); his grandchildren Russ (Amanda), Laurell (Clint), Corinna, Mathew, Nathen (Claudia) and Curtis; his great-grandchildren James (Jessica), Matthew, Kevin and Michael; his great-great-granddaughter Keena; his brothers John (Charlene) and Edward (Marj); and his many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by Olive, his loving wife of 67 years, his brother Peter, sister Mary, and 3 grandsons.
Bill was born in Newburg, New Brunswick on the Gallagher homestead in 1930. His grandmother still lived there and when his mother died in 1941, she took on the responsibility of raising the 11-year-old “Billy” and his 4 younger siblings. He left home at a very young age and worked his way across Canada, eventually arriving in the Okanagan where he met his future wife. They married in 1952 and he lived out his life with her and their 4 children in BC. He was very much a “family man”, a very loving father and grandfather. An avid reader, he educated himself, as his formal schooling had been cut off early. He loved history and was great at crosswords and trivia, right to the end. He also loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking, fishing and hunting. One of his most favourite places to be in the world was the family cabin at a lake in the East Kootenays, which he built himself.
He spent his career in the logging and lumber industry, winning many awards for his skills in lumber grading and first aid. In retirement he taught courses in sawmill mechanics at the local college. Bill was very extroverted and made friends out of strangers everywhere he went. He will be missed by many.
The family would like to thank the staff at Springfield Care Centre for the loving care they provided him.
The funeral will be held on Monday, January 27, 2020 at 11:00 am at the Corpus Christie Roman Catholic Church, 750 Rutland Rd N, Kelowna, BC. In the Irish tradition, a wake will be held the day before, Sunday, January 26, at 1249 Pacific Avenue, beginning at 3:00 pm.
If you wish to send a condolence, post photos or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area called “Condolences.”
Service
Monday, January 27, 2020 at 11:00 am
Location
Corpus Christie Roman Catholic Church
I’m sorry I couldn’t make it out at this time of year, but my thoughts are with everyone and I’m glad I got to see him in September. Grandpa G, as my brother and I always called him, got me interested in things like Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and Archie comic books, and there was never a better person for a long conversation or debate on just about any topic you could possibly think of. His cabin at the lake was often a second home in my childhood. He will be missed!
Thank you Nathen. Grampa loved all his grandsons so much.
Condolences to all the Gallagher family from the lake neighbours, The Falcone family. Bill was a great guy and had many laughs with him and all the stories will be missed.
We are sorry to hear that Mr. G. has passed.
Our deepest condolences to the families. He was an ambassador at the lake. We have many fond memories. A good man! Rest in peace Mr. G.
Thank you for the kind words. He loved the cabin and all his friends at the lake.
Uncle Bill will truly be missed by many, we are keeping the whole family in our thoughts and prayers during the weeks and months ahead. Rest in peace Uncle Bill 🙏❤
Thank you Betty. And thank all of you for the beautiful flowers.
The boys, Clint and I finally made it back to BC this past June for the first time in many years. We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful couple of days with grams and gramps. The boys were able to reminisce about days in BC with Gramps. Going to the cabin with gramps, fishing, the quad, building fires, cooking on the fire and many more memories. Kevin loved the breakfasts at the cabin with gramps when he cut chunks of bacon. I remember all of gramps tall tale stories and the true ones. There are many stories, Gramps lived a long life and touched many people. He would talk to anyone and start up a conversation. We give our love and prayers to all of gramps family and friends. We will miss him dearly. We wish we could be there celebrating his life.
Thank you. We wish you had been here also but we’ll talk soon.
Thank you so much for your condolences. He greatly enjoyed his cabin and his “lake neighbours”..