John Harris (Jack) Gallagher of Mt. Pleasant, SC passed away on February 21, 2017.
He was born in Wheeling, WV on April 1, 1927, the son of John A. Gallagher and Letha Harris Gallagher.
Gallagher graduated from Triadelphia High School in Wheeling. He was class president, band drum major, on the basketball and track teams, and a commencement speaker. John attended West Virginia University and earned degrees in electrical engineering and law. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and held several offices including fraternity chapter president.
Gallagher practiced intellectual property law in New York State and Washington, DC for 35 years, and was a member of the West Virginia Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
John enlisted in the Navy during World War II when he was 18. He was in the Reserved Officer’s Training Corps at West Virginia University. John was chosen distinguished military graduate and outstanding signal corps cadet and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the Korean War. Gallagher was a company commander and also served as claims officer on the Judge Advocate General staff at Fort Monmouth, NJ. He published a historical novel, Grady’s Tour, in 2005. It is based on his experiences and the service of others during the Korean War. The book received the 2007 Military Writers Society of America award for best historical fiction.
John H. Gallagher is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ida Jane Meadows Gallagher, daughter Nancy Gallagher Wroclawski and husband Joseph of New York City, son John Meadows Gallagher and wife Stephanie Brinkman and granddaughter Riley Gallagher of Waterbury Center, VT, and granddaughter Fallon Gallagher of Brooklyn, NY.
The Gallagher family is indebted to Hospice of Charleston for their well-organized and compassionate service. Friends wishing to send a memorial for John H. Gallagher can donate to Hospice of Charleston, 4975 Lacross Rd. Suite 200, North Charleston, SC 29406
Arrangements entrusted to Palmetto Cremation Society, 11 Cunnington Avenue, Charleston, SC. (843) 722-2555.