Mike Gallegly passed away on October 24, 2018, in the hospice center in Charlottesville, Va. Mike suffered a brain aneurysm and a major stroke on April 24, 2018, just days after his mother’s passing.
He was born in Madison, Wis. and soon his parents moved to Morgantown. He graduated from Morgantown High School in 1967, attended NC State in 1968, and graduated from WVU with a BS in Forestry in 1972. Mike was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. He received his Masters of Science in Forest Ecology in 1974.
Mike served in the US Army National Guard, in Kingwood, and the US Army Reserves in Oregon. Mike had a love of fishing, hunting and the great outdoors that influenced his career choice into forestry.
Mike was a forest silviculturist, a steward of the land, with the US Forest Service for 30 years. He worked on four different National Forests: Siskiyou National Forest, Cave Junction, Ore.; Willamette National Forest, Blue River, Ore.; Winema National Forest, Klamath Falls, Ore.; and George Washington National Forest, Staunton, Va., from where he retired. During his career he spent many summers fighting major wildfires all across the West. In 1992, he was sent to Florida with FEMA to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in Homestead.
Mike is survived by his father, Mannon E. Gallegly, Jr.; his twin daughters, Katy Adler (Reid) and Emily Zahradnik (Neil) and their mother, Deborah Gallegly; brother, Thomas Gallegly (Heidi); sister, Susie Ambrose (Tom); grandchildren, Geo and Miakai Zahradnik; and many nieces and nephews and dear friends.
Mike was a devoted father, brother, and son. His greatest joy was his family. He cherished his two daughters, who he visited often. His grandchildren were the light of his life. His sense of humor and love of classic rock music, nature, and WVU football, made him the life of every gathering. Mike celebrated life to the fullest each day. He will truly be missed as he was taken too young at only 69.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the WVU Alumni Center, in Morgantown, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11.
Memorial donations may be sent to the National Forest Foundation at Fort Missoula Rd. Bldg.27, Ste 3, Missoula, MT 59804 or visit their website www.nationalforests.org/donate/plant-trees. In Promo Code box include “in memory of Mike Gallegly to plant trees"e; Let’s plant as many trees as we can for Mike, just like he did for all of us during his lifetime.
