Final Salute

Fergal Patrick Joseph Gallagher “Pat,” passed away this on October 26, 2023. Born April 1, 1936, in Grafton, North Dakota, to Farigal Gallagher and Marguerite Gagnon. Marguerite’s family has been in North America since the 1640s. The family visited the home town St. Prosper, Quebec which is near Montreal in 1967 and saw the World’s Fair. The Gallagher’s have farmed in North Dakota since the 1890’s. Pat and Darlene were married in Manchester, Iowa on January 25, 1958. They met at an U.S.O. Dance in Washington, D.C. Three children made it a great Marriage: Fergal Jr. and Kevin were born at the Naval Hospital, Guam Mariana Islands. Bridget was born at Lake Forest Hospital. Pat graduated from St. Thomas High School in North Dakota, attended North Dakota Agricultural College, Graduated from the Laboratory Tech School at the National Naval Medical School. He also graduated from the Industrial Manage Institute at Lake Forest College. He retired from the U.S. Navy after 26 years (10 years active and 16 in reserves) as a Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman. While on active duty he managed the blood banks at Naval Hospital Guam and Naval Hospital Great Lakes. He served in Vietnam with the Seabees where he managed the medical department and did the laboratory work. He retired from a 30 year career as an executive in the building service industry. He had a very successful retirement having served with the Gurnee Breakfast Exchange and the Round Lake Exchange Clubs. He was club president, District and Lincolnland Treasurer for 5 years He was the president of the Lake County Council of the Navy League. He served on the board of the Great Lakes Naval Museum. He was the president of the Gurnee Board of Trade, an investment club. He was a founding member and president of the Lake County Exchange Club’s Foundation for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Pat loved his volunteer work, fishing, gardening and his family. He is survived by his children, Fergal Jr. (Michelle), Oakland Park, FL, Kevin, Wilton Manors, FL and Bridget Mascillino (Mark), Oakland Park, FL, and was preceded in death by wife, Darlene (Burns); brothers, Michael in San Diego, CA and Robert in Conyers, GA. A visitation and funeral service will be held at Strang Funeral Chapel, 410 E. Belvidere Road, Grayslake, IL 60030 on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, from 1pm until 5pm, with a service commencing at 5pm. Interment will be held at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (https://www.vvmf.org/give-to-vvmf/) or American Syringomyelia & Chiari Alliance (https://asap.org/fundraise/donate/). For more information, log onto www.strangfuneral.org or contact 847-223-8122.

Published by Daily Herald on Oct. 29, 2023.