Good-bye Beloved Wordsmith:

A tribute to the life of William Kneeland Gallagher
1940-2008

With our cell phones heralding his passing early this morning, we all said good-bye to our dear friend, father and brother, William Kneeland Gallagher. Like someone who hangs-up on you unexpectedly during a very important call, Bill left us to wonder the how and the why? A man bent on experiencing life to its absolute fullest, Bill stumbled on several realities of late, never really regaining his footing in life.

In his prime, Bill wowed students with his ability to teach and with his wealth of knowledge, audiences with his charisma, and readers with his ability to use words to tell his story. Like Hemingway and Jim Morrison, however, the flash of greatness experienced in his early years, ended tragically by his own hand, and much too early.

In some cultures it is the highest honor to take one’s own life when that life doesn’t match-up to prior expectations. Whether Bill planned his exit or not, I will always believe he felt this ending to be an honorable way to preserve his memory, his place in all our hearts.

Bill Gallagher Sr. will always be to me a communicator of intelligent thought, a source of unconditional love and fun, but unfortunately one who flew too close to the Sun, leaving us to look back on his life prematurely and regrettably.

I, for one, choose to remember Bill for his many accomplishments and the tremendous, loving family that he leaves behind, always with the hope that he is up there right now having tea with Sally and discussing a book that he has just read.

God bless you Bill, forever. Amen.

Uncle Bob and Aunt Laurie