Gordon Douglas Galarneau

1944 - 2021

Gordon Douglas (Gordy) Galarneau, Jr

Gordon Douglas (Gordy) Galarneau, Jr. passed away Thursday August 5, 2021. He passed peacefully, surrounded by family, in Billings. He was 77 years old.

Gordy was born in 1944 in Gary, IN where his father worked brokering steel for the US Government during the second world war. Early in his life the family relocated to Minneapolis, MN. He completed his schooling in Minnesota and was drafted into the US Army.

After his service, Gordy spent a handful of years working at various Twin Cities businesses, including Toro Corporation. He ultimately wound up in the Accounting group at Interstate. In 1975, he went 'all in' and purchased Interstate from its founder, Bob Murray. That set the course for the rest of his professional life.

Gordy was a classic Titan of American business. He put everything he had at risk, and by doing so, he created jobs and opportunities for thousands of people over his 50 year career with Interstate.

Despite his many successes, he remained humble and approachable. Working with Gordy came with extremely high expectations, and extremely high levels of support. He was always fair, taught others to take the long view, and never settled for anything other than the best outcome.

When he wasn't at work he was often at his ranch, River Run Ranch, outside of Absarokee, MT. He enjoyed watching the training of his reining horses, discussing ranch business, and enjoying the view of the Beartooth Mountains – always with Rinda by his side.

Gordy is survived by his wife, Rinda Galarneau; his daughter Jill Galarneau (Chad Yeftich); his daughter Wendy Penrod Auers (Larry); his son Travis Penrod (Deb); and his sister Gayle Galarneau. He had seven Grandchildren (Sarah Royce, Brittany Domier, Aaron Johansen, Michael Taylor, Holly Knutson, Lori Taylor and Mallory Taylor) and nine Great Grandchildren.

Memorial donations honoring Gordy should be directed to The Second Step Foundation. For more information on how to make memorial donations, please contact Samantha Rains at:

Samantha.Rains@istate.com.

(952) 854-2044.

More information on the foundation can be found here:

www.secondstepfoundation.org

There will be two memorial services for Gordy:

In Montana:

Tuesday, September 7 at 11AM (lunch served)

Camelot Ranch

8736 Camelot Ln.

Billings, MT 59106

In Minnesota:

Thursday, September 9 at 2:00PM (hors d'oeuvres)

Minneapolis Event Centers

212 2nd Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55414