Charles Henry Galligan, Jr.

Charlie, as he was known to friends and family, was born on March 16, 1926 in Weymouth, MA to Charles H. Galligan and Agnes B. Morrissey Galligan. As his parents’ names indicate, Irish blood flowed strong in his family, and from an early age, Charlie’s quick tongue, ambition, and sense of justice, as well as his love of family, music & a good party were evidence of that heritage.

After graduating from Weymouth HS in 1943, Charlie attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) to study Aeronautical Engineering, eventually attaining a degree in Management Engineering after joining the Navy during WWII’s V-12 program. He was commissioned as an Ensign in 1946, and then attended the Navy Supply School at Harvard University’s Business School until he was assigned to the destroyer USS Robert L. Wilson. At his next assignment – the Navy Supply Depot in Scotia, NY – he met (and on March 31, 1951, married) Lyline Alice Langford, an only child who would go on to raise their eight children.

The newlyweds moved to Golcuk, Turkey in August 1951, where Charlie served with the Joint Military Mission for Aid to Turkey until 1953. He subsequently served as controller at the Naval Ammunition Depot at Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia from 1954 to 1956, while simultaneously attending Drexel University’s MBA program. He went on to serve as Disbursing Officer on the USS Oglethorpe out of Norfolk, VA, leaving in 1958 to become an instructor at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

Over the next six years, Charlie taught at the Academy, earned an MA in Personnel Management from George Washington University, and served in the Bureau of Ships, Navy Department in Washington DC until he retired from Active Duty in 1964. After a 2-year stint as the Treasurer of Annapolis Boat Rental, Annapolis Sailing School, and Tidewater Boats, Inc., he returned to the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Ships and served at the Naval Material Command Headquarters in Washington DC until retiring in 1981. Never one fit for a life of leisure, he spent the next thirty years working with Lyline at her tax consulting business, Academy Tax Service.

After selling their longtime Annapolis home in 2000 (and sorting through the garage of items Charlie kept because he might need them at some point), Charlie and Lyline moved to McLean, VA for several years before deciding in 2009 to become Bradenton, FL snowbirds, coming back to live in Deale, MD – and see their extended family - during the warmer spring and summer months.

They moved back to Annapolis in 2016 and, most recently, Charlie lived at Bay Woods Cooperative. Charlie was a long-time member of St. Mary’s Parish in Annapolis and belonged to Annapolis Elks Lodge #622, the Annapolis Order of Hibernians (AOH), the Veterans of Foreign War, the American Legion, and the Fleet Reserve Association. He loved a good drink, a rousing Irish ballad, dancing with his wife in his black bowler cap, researching family genealogy, staying abreast of world events, and hosting social gatherings.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Lyline A. Galligan, and survived by 8 children (Michael Galligan, Lynda Mader, Carol Cornforth, Pamela Galligan-Stierle, Patrick Galligan, Nancy Fulton, Jim Galligan, & Tim Galligan), along with their spouses, 27 grandchildren (and their spouses), and 20 great-grandchildren who will all miss his signature laugh (punctuated heh-heh-heh), his life stories, his sharp mind, and his quick wit.

A visitation will be held at Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD on Saturday, February 10, 2024, 4 – 6 pm (short service at 5 pm). Funeral Mass and inurnment will be celebrated privately at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake (www.hospicechesapeake.org), St. Mary’s Church & School (www.stmarysannapolis.org), or Helping Up Mission (www.helpingupmission.org).

Family request that you please sign the online guest book.