Wednesday, August 27, 2008

'Santa' had genorousity, sense of humor

Socorro mourns the loss of a very special person with the recent death of John Gallagher.

Valerie Kimble For El Defensor Chieftain

They say only the good die young, and he did — at age 64 — on Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, doing a job he didn't have to do.

But that was John.

His was a familiar and friendly face, as were the baseball caps he wore, and his Socorro Alarm truck, which was part of the funeral procession last Saturday morning.

He wore other hats just as prominently, from City Councilor to County Commissioner and school board member — and donated what he received as a board member for high school scholarships.

And for several generations of local children and their parents waiting in line at the Plaza, John Gallagher was Santa Claus.

Gallagher also donned the obligatory red suit for the holiday party hosted by New Mexico Tech's EMRTC, where he worked for 28 years; listened to Christmas wishes at Tech's annual party; and even played Santa for individual families.

His wife, Susie, said John made so many calls they had a schedule prepared well in advance of the holiday.

Gallagher stored his Santa suit at City Hall so his children — and, later, grandchildren, wouldn't recognize his alter ego.

His daughters, Katherine and Shaun, remember their father as a generous man who often dug deep into his pockets to provide a holiday meal or gifts for a needy family. John never signed the card with his name — his gifts were always from Santa.

Susie recalls the first time she met her future husband.

The then-Susie Lucero and her friends went to the Loma Theater, and a friend of hers told Susie there was a young man who wanted to meet her.

Susie couldn't be bothered. Elvis Presley was baring his chest as a boxer in Kid Gallahad, and she thought, "well after this, he'll forget about me."

He didn't. The young man was waiting for her at the end of the runway.

"I wasn't allowed to date Techies or Stallion Site-ers," said Susie, so at her first meeting with Gallagher, who was indeed stationed at Stallion Site on White Sands Missile Range from his home state of Pennsylvania, she had to be circumspect.

Susie hid when she saw her brother, Johnny, passing in front of the theater, and allowed the soldier to drive her home.

Soon after, and by pure coincidence, of course, Susie and her friend, Mert Baca, were walking to Clarke Field to watch a baseball game, and John drove by and offered them a ride.

"I sat by the door," Susie said.

But in time, the community grapevine had declared John a good guy, and she accepted his offer of a first date. They went cruising.

There was still the issue of her family. He was a gringo and a Republican.

But, Gallagher was also a Catholic — a practicing Catholic — and that tipped the balance.

He wore his faith with pride, regularly received Communion, and had an aunt who was a nun.

John and Susie got engaged on Nov. 1, 1963, and were married on June 20, 1964. They were both 19 years old.

They traveled, spending time in Hawaii and Johnson's Island on the coast of Lake Erie; but Susie grew homesick, and the couple returned to Socorro.

John was known for his outgoing personality and quips; but, oddly, Susie said he wasn't funny when they first met.

When did he get funny?

"After he married me," she said. "When you marry into a large Socorro family, you have to have a good sense of humor."

The couple started Socorro Alarm with a partner when Katherine was 3 years old; and in 1978, the Gallaghers bought out the partner.

John loved baseball and played on the Zimmerly Hardware team for years.

"Everyone wanted him on their team, but he went with Zimmerly because of a family relation," Susie said.

Susie said he would do favors for his alarm customers, such as turning off coffeepots inadvertently left on.

"He was just the most giving person," said Shaun, "and he never asked for or wanted credit."

John did, however, long to hear from aliens, the real ones, and had a collection of alien memorabilia, as well as a computer set up to track suspicious objects.

Gallagher already had plans to retire when he took a call early last Wednesday morning reporting that an alarm had gone off at Parkview School, where a classroom had flooded. It wasn't even his alarm, but when John couldn't reach anyone else, he went himself.

And so John Gallagher died as he had lived, unselfishly giving of his time to do the right thing.

"That was my dad being my dad," said Shaun.

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