Theodore T. Galkowski

WEST YARMOUTH — Dr. Theodore T. Galkowski, age 86, of West Yarmouth, died peacefully at home on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, with his family present, after a long battle with cancer. He was the husband of Jeannette H. (Samborski) Galkowski. They were married 58 years.

Born and raised in Worcester, he was the son of the late Stanislaw and Franceszka (Borowski) Galkowski. He graduated from Holy Cross College with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, class of 1947. Dr. Galkowski interrupted his education for a three-year enlistment in the Army, beginning in 1943, including service with the tank and Signal Corps in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. He earned a master's degree in chemistry from Holy Cross College in 1948, and a doctorate in chemistry from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, in 1951.

Dr. Galkowski joined the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., in 1951, and in 1952, joined the faculty of Providence College at Providence, R.I., in its department of chemistry. He taught there for 40 years, served as department chairman, and as administrative liaison, coordinating grants with federal agencies like the National Science Foundation and NASA. Dr. Galkowski held himself to high standards and expectations as professor, taking the successes and failures of his students very personally, working late at night on papers and lecture notes and counseling students. He conducted research in organic and carbohydrate chemistry, including work with plant genus Vaccinium and genus Portulaca, publishing numerous articles in the "Journal of the American Chemical Society." Dr. Galkowski dedicated his life to the Providence College community and its Catholic cause and mission.

After he retired in 1993, Dr. Galkowski was elevated to professor emeritus. He moved with his wife to their summer home in West Yarmouth. He served as a Eucharistic minister at St. Francis Xavier Church and was active in its St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Dr. Galkowski was the Yarmouth representative to the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority; served on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society; served as a assistant district commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America; served on the Yarmouth Shellfish Advisory Committee, and on the board of the Hyannis Park Civic Association. He was an avid shellfisherman and gardener, and was well known in the local community. Dr. Galkowski could be persuasive in a very quiet way and had a unique sense of humor.

He was a member of the American Chemical Society, Phi Alpha Gamma, Sigma Xi, and Phi Lambda Upsilon, Yarmouth Conservation Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Rifle Association.

Besides his loving wife, Jeannette, he is survived by two sons, Mark S. Galkowski and his wife Lynda of West Yarmouth, and Jan T. Galkowski and his wife Helen of Cambridge; two grandchildren, David and Jeff Galkowski; and many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, at the Morris & O'Connor Funeral Home, 58 Long Pond Drive, South Yarmouth, 508-398-2121.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11 a.m., at St. Francis Xavier Church, Hyannis. Burial will follow at the Francis Xavier Cemetery in Centerville.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his name to the John Paul II High School Scholarship Fund, 120 High School Road, Hyannis, MA 02601, or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Francis Xavier Parish, 19 Cross St., Hyannis, MA 02601.

For guest book, visit www.morrisoconnor.com.

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