Tom and Pat Gallagher Endowed Scholarship Fund
The Gallagher family has been in Oregon since the 1850s and in Corvallis since 1911. Thomas L. Gallagher, Jr.’s paternal grandfather was James Gallagher, a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Corvallis. His parents, Thomas L. Gallagher (“Lynn”) and Frances Gallagher, met while attending Oregon State College. They graduated in 1939 and married later that year.
Tom was born in Corvallis on August 1, 1943. He attended all eight primary grades at Fairplay Elementary School, formerly located on U.S. Highway 20, north of Corvallis. He graduated from Corvallis High School in 1961 and entered Oregon State University that fall.Patricia Ann Haggard was born in Vancouver, Washington, on April 28, 1943. Pat attended public schools in the Parkrose School District in east Multnomah County and graduated from Parkrose High School in 1961. She also entered OSU that fall.
Tom and Pat met during their sophomore year at OSU. Pat lived in the Kappa Delta sorority house and Tom lived at home due to limited financial resources. Their usual Friday night dates occurred in the reading room at the OSU library. Pat graduated in 1965 with a B.S. in home economics. Tom received several small scholarships while attending OSU and graduated at the top of his class in 1965 with a B.S. in general social science. He received offers from three prestigious universities and chose to attend Harvard University. The couple married on June 12, 1965, and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, so Tom could attend Harvard Law School. Harvard gave Tom a partial scholarship and loans to enable him to complete his legal education. Pat worked while Tom studied.
Tom graduated from Harvard in 1968 and became a member of the Oregon State Bar that year. He started his career as a law clerk for the Oregon Supreme Court. In 1969, he became a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon. In 1971, he entered private practice, becoming an associate with a Portland, Oregon, law firm, where he became a partner in 1977. Shortly thereafter, he took a position as senior attorney at the Federal Trade Commission’s regional office in Denver, Colorado, where he led two national antitrust investigations. In 1981, he opened a private practice in Corvallis. Since that time, he has emphasized real estate and business law.
Pat and Tom’s son Douglas was born in 1972. He and his wife Becky are both lawyers and they have two daughters.
Tom became a member of the Rotary Club of Corvallis in 1985 and served as club president in 2000-01. Tom, Pat, and Doug are all Paul Harris Fellows. Tom currently serves on the board of directors of Corvallis Caring Place. Over the years, he has served on several boards of directors and advisory boards of local civic and governmental organizations.
The couple enjoys traveling and their trips always include visits to museums, historic houses, and gardens. Some of their trips are coordinated with the Formula 1 car racing schedule, which is one of Tom’s passions. Pat works in the law office one day a week. She also enjoys gardening and landscaping on their five-acre property and does “clothing construction,” which she enjoys as an art form.
Tom and Pat place a high value on education. They recognize that without the financial assistance Tom received at a crucial point in their lives, they might not have had the opportunities they have enjoyed. They hope the scholarship fund will improve educational opportunities for OSU students who possess the intellectual ability but not all of the financial resources required to succeed.