Michael Galvin

8/11/43 – 10/14/06

Husband, father, brother, friend, mentor, and leader -- these are just a few words that describe Michael. To most of us we remember Michael as a man who was deeply entrenched in the world of scouting, a world that is filled with tradition, faith, and honesty. His loyalty to concepts, teachings, and practices of scouting made all who came in contact with Mike a richer person. He has taught us all many things about camping, hiking, canoeing, the wilderness, and survival in the woods, but most of all he has taught us more about ourselves than we could have imagined. Michael challenged us in body and in mind every day we were with him. It was how he challenged us spiritually to become better people that we should remember most.

Mike was a patient, caring, understanding leader of not only the young men that he led but also of the parents of those men. He taught us how to laugh, be silly, and clearly not take ourselves so seriously. The long hikes, fireside chats, and early morning swims, will all be a part of our memories of Mike. Troop 116 had many great memories with Mike, but the one that this group will most likely remember the most is how honored and proud he was to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He represented our troop, scouting, honor and courage so well that day. It should stand as a beacon of light for all those involved with him, as a standard to live up to and a personal goal to shoot for.

Most recently several members of Troop 116 had the fortune to spend several days in the Adirondacks with Mike. It was a special occasion for all of us but it will now, in retrospect, become my own personal greatest memory. It was a beautiful Saturday morning; the wind was coming in from the West. As our canoes sliced through the still waters, the sun was glistening on the mirror called (Middle) Saranac Lake. We were about to embark upon an 8 mile canoe trip, with a 6 mile hike and a 2300ft mountain named Ampersand in the middle of it all. As we began our trip through the upper locks and winding channel leading to Upper Saranac, we stopped often to just take a moment to breath in the serenity of the mountains, valleys, and lakes around us. As the Blue Heron fly overhead we all began to sing a very familiar song, one that everyone knows and wishes would be sung to them once a year. It was Michael’s 63rd birthday and a day that I thought was just perfect for Mike. He was with friends and he was in the Adirondacks, which he had spent so much time loving and caring about. Seeing the joy in his eyes and the power in his stride as he made the summit of the mountain, which he told us he had climbed in the winter with his own boys and had climbed dozens of times before, was truly an inspiration for all of us. Without his leadership and guidance some of us would still be driving around looking for the campsite.

Mike Galvin, we will miss you very much. Rest assured your love and devotion of Troop 116 will continue to be our group’s driving force, in the way we shape and mold the lives of so many young men. Thanks for all the memories.

“ No one is truly gone …until they are forgotten. So lets never forget.”

-Author Unknown