Eugene Galella's Obituary
Eugene Galella, loving husband of Eleanor Galella, passed away peacefully Friday morning, May 17th at the age of 98.Eugene was married to Eleanor (who passed away a year ago) for 69 years and leaves behind a wonderful family; children – Wayne (Madelyn), Steve, Jean (Steve), John (Theresa); grandchildren – Elaine (Philip), Grant, Graham, Shelby, Stephanie, Sophia, Peyton, and great-grandchild Eleanore.Eugene was preceded in death by his infant son Michael, sister Carmel, brother John, mother Isabel, and father Judge John Galella of Memphis.Eugene grew up in Memphis and volunteered at a young age for the US Navy just after WWII broke out. He became a pilot and served in the war in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. When the war ended, he served in the Navy Reserves for many years and left the Navy as a Lt. Commander. He attended Christian Brothers College and held several careers in his lifetime. Eugene was a draftsman, architect, salesman, mechanical engineer, and inventor. He met his wife Eleanor in Laurel, Mississippi while traveling. They married and moved to Memphis where they built a family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Eugene was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, friend, and mentor.Eugene had many talents and passions throughout his life. He loved to fly! He even got the chance to fly again at 92 years old and asked if he could do a barrel roll, just like he had loved to do as a young man. Eugene also enjoyed fly fishing, bird hunting, working in his shop or the yard, woodworking, and conversing with new people everywhere he went. He never met a stranger, and everyone who met him felt right at home–like they had known him all their lives. He had a wonderful way of connecting with people and always generously gave of himself to others. He even would have given the shirt off his back to anyone in need! His greatest passion of all was his wife and family. He enjoyed countless family activities: vacations, fishing and hunting trips, board game marathons, home improvement projects, movies, and regular family meals around the dinner table. Family dinners were filled with laughter, reminiscing, and telling stories and sharing memories about old times. Eugene was a role-model for living with integrity and shared his wisdom with family in what were simply called “dad’s lectures”. Eugene was brave, strong, God-fearing, protective, encouraging, passionate, generous, kind, and a true hero to his family and friends.The family will receive relatives and friends on Friday, May 24 from 6-8 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue in Memphis. The funeral will be held on Saturday, May 25 at 11:30 a.m. also at the funeral home. The burial will immediately follow at Memorial Park Southwoods Cemetery.In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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