Brent GALLOWAY

GALLOWAY, Dr. Brent Douglas
Of Regina, died peacefully on August 6, 2014 at the Pasqua Hospital in Regina, at the age of 70. Miriam Handel, his wife of 21 years, and his constant companion and caregiver was by his side. Dr. Galloway was born on April 8, 1944 in Oakland, California. He received his B.A., C.Phil., and Ph.D. in linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1965, 1971, and 1977, respectively. He was an American linguist noted for his work with endangered Amerindian languages, including Upriver Halkomelem, Nooksack, and the Samish dialect of Northern Straits Salish (all of which are spoken in southwestern B.C. and now western Washington), as well as Gullah (the African American language of South Carolina). From 1975 to 1980 he founded and headed the Halkomelem Language Program at the Coqualeetza Education Training Centre in Sardis, British Columbia. It was there he developed the Stó:l Halkomelem orthography which was subsequently adopted officially and is now in wide use throughout the Fraser Valley. He also compiled the first grammar of Upriver Halkomelem, published in 1993, as well as treatises on the region's ethnobotany and ethnozoology. Brent was adopted as an elder by the Nooksack Tribe of Washington, and given the name Lawechten after an Aboriginal doctor. In 1988, Brent joined the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College's (now the First Nations University of Canada) Department of Indian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics and served as its head from 1988 to 1994. He continued to work extensively with Halkomelem and Nooksack language education and completed a dictionary for Upriver Halkomelem, and a Classified Word List and Grammatical Sketch for Nooksack. Brent also wrote a number of papers and articles on his theory of cognitive semantics, first called Three-Dimensional Semantics and now called Multi-Dimensional Semantics. In August, 2008 Brent retired from First Nations University of Canada and was appointed Professor Emeritus. Brent was also a lover and composer of classical music. His orchestral pieces, "The Night Before Christmas" and "Mexican Colors" have both been performed by the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Brent and Miriam married in 1993, and together they enjoyed travel and entertaining family and friends. Through his many years living with chronic illness, Brent truly appreciated and made the most of each day, enjoying life and bringing joy to those around him. His positive attitude inspired many. He will be deeply missed by Miriam, his brother-in-law, Allen Handel, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Sharna and Michael White, his nephew and niece, Josh and Claud Handel, and his many cousins, colleagues and friends. Brent is also survived by his brother, Terry, his sister, Nance (Kerry O'Banion), and his niece, Megan (Vlad Dumitrascu), all of California. A Memorial Gathering for Brent will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014, from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., at the University Club, 2nd Floor, College West Building, University of Regina. Parking will be available. Please wear bright colours (no black). In lieu of cards or flowers, a donation to a charity of your choice or to any of the following would be appreciated: Regina Pasqua Hospital - Palliative Care Unit; Regina General Hospital – SICU, CCU, CSU, 3F or Renal Unit; Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, Diabetes Longevity Study, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Paul Schwann Fitness Centre at the University of Regina.