Thomas Justin Gallagher

Thomas was born July 17, 1946, in Minneapolis, the second of seven children. His father was Daniel Francis Gallagher, of Irish heritage; his mother was Magnhild Heide, of Norwegian heritage. Thomas passed away June 21, 2025, from multiple myeloma cancer. He was 78 years old. Tom loved exploring nature, designing, creating, and building. He also loved boating, gardening, wine making, BBQ-ing and reading. Most of all he loved his family and sharing his stories with others.

The Gallagher family moved from Minneapolis to Eugene when Tom was 5 years old. Tom completed twelve grades in the Catholic School system there, where he was active in basketball, graduating in 1964 from St. Francis High School. Besides basketball, he enjoyed gardening and spending time out in nature, often with his dog Laddie. There were several hunting/camping trips with high school friends to the Steen Mountain area of Eastern Oregon. Tom met his future wife, Cheryl Behm, in 1962 at a neighbor’s birthday party. During the next 5 years they made many trips to the Oregon coast and hiked around Oregon. They married in 1967. Tom completed a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture in 1969 at the University of Oregon. The following years he worked as a landscape architect designing parks for the Sacramento County Parks and Sonoma County Regional Parks. During this time Tom and Cheryl welcomed to the family, a son, Neal, and a daughter, Jeni. The California coast was a favorite place to take the kids, especially Bodega Bay and Duncan’s Landing. Always interested in nature and landscape, he began studies in Natural Resource Management at the University of Michigan in 1973, completing a PhD in 1977.

While finishing his PhD, he was a Professor at Humbolt State University in Arcata, California. They bought an old Victorian house in Eureka, and spent their free time gardening, renovating the house, going to kids’ soccer and basketball games, and trips to the coast. Three years later the family is in Eugene, Oregon with Tom running his own environmental consulting business. There was still time for gardening, attending kids’ sports and music performances, and camping trips to the Steen Mountain area. His consulting work took him to California and Alaska, and work with Alaska Native Americans. This led to Professor position in Natural Resource Planning at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1984. Not long after moving to Fairbanks, Tom and Cheryl got interested in boating. They bought a 15’ inflatable Zodiac boat from a friend and the adventures began. The early boating excursions were on the Chena River in Fairbanks with friends and family. Bigger trips soon followed on the ocean waters of Prince William Sound, (8 hours from Fairbanks), where they spent wonderful days exploring the islands and inlets.

In 1989 he was selected by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to their National Fellowship Program, which provided opportunities to study community leadership and allowed 6 months of study and travel in Chile. Returning to Alaska, he continued his teaching at the University of Alaska-Southeast in Juneau. When not in the classroom, Tom and Cheryl were out in their slightly larger inflatable boat discovering the islands, bays, and wildlife of Southeast Alaska with their grown children, friends and family.

In 1996, missing gardening and wanting to be near their aging parents, Tom took a position as a leadership coordinator for the Oregon State University Extension Service in Corvallis. Tom and Cheryl moved to Independence, to a 43-acre farm with an old farmhouse in much need of repair. They spent 25 years renovating the house, a real labor of love. Replacing boating with gardening, they made many, many jars of tomato juice, applesauce, pears, and beans from their garden and many bottles of wine from their tiny vineyard. Farm life included raising Galloway cattle, chickens, hay, and caring for a horse and 2 ponies. Tom’s work at Oregon State led to being hired as the Director of the Ford Institute for Community Building with The Ford Family Foundation in Roseburg. As Director Tom managed leadership training for rural community members across the state of Oregon and Siskiyou County, California, graduating 6,500 leadership trainees. In 2016 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University for his work in leadership with rural communities. His proudest professional accomplishment is the success of the Ford Institute for Community Building and the success of the individuals and communities who participated in that program.

Tom retired in 2012 ready to do full time gardening and wine making. By this time his children are married and there are three beautiful grandchildren. There he expressed his love for his wife, children, and grandchildren by caring for the farm with landscaping, vegetable gardening, fruit trees, renovating the old farmhouse, and sharing stories. Tom often commented that he is most proud of his 58-year marriage and the success of their two children, and his three grandchildren.

He is predeceased by his parents, brother Kevin Gallagher, and sister Maureen Gallagher Jensen. He is survived by his wife Cheryl, son Neal Gallagher (Christine) and daughter Jeni Gallagher Suubi (Eric Hagen), grandchildren Lily Gallagher Spreadbury (Brice), Clark Gallagher, Luka Suubi, brother John Gallagher (Trish), sister Patricia Gallagher Hilliard (Larry), brother Mark Gallagher (Libby), sister Mary Lou Gallagher Childs, brother-in-law Brooks Jensen, and many nieces and nephews. Donations can be made to the Ella Curran Food Bank, PO Box 547, Independence, OR 97351.