Richard Arnold Gallotta

Richard Arnold Gallotta died peacefully at home on Jun 17, 2021, of heart disease. Richard was born on September 9th, 1935, in Providence, Rhode Island, the third child and second son of Albert and Nancy Gallotta. He is survived by his brother Albert A. Gallotta, Jr. and pre-deceased by his beloved sister, Valerie Marie Massimi.

He attended high school at LaSalle Academy in Providence and graduated from Brown University with honors, studying Classics, in May 1956. Richard later obtained a Master’s Degree in National Security Strategy, with highest distinction, from the Naval War College in 1977.

From 1956 to 1984 Richard served in the United States Navy as a cryptologist and Russian linguist, serving at sea and around the world as the United States countered the aspirations of the former Soviet Union. Highlights of his naval career include commanding an intelligence unit in Karamursel, Turkey, submarine deployments to the Barents Sea intercepting Soviet communications, service in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs. Richard retired as a Captain from the Navy in June 1984. Following his career in the Navy, Richard took on a second career involving deep sea research and marine science. As part of this work he had the rare adventure to ride a submersible to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Richard finally retired in 1998.

Richard married Ann Frances Gallotta, nee Magner, of Providence in 1957 (they divorced in 1987). During this marriage his sons, Stephen Michael (1961) and Andrew Richard (1962) were born, and in 1965, a daughter, Katherine Ann was born, but tragically died seven months later.

In 1988 he married Marguerite Kay Tilghman, nee Claytor, of Baltimore, MD and his family instantly grew by three young adults: Todd, Scott, and Kathryn. The loving couple settled in St. James Plantation, St. James, NC, in 1995 and enjoyed playing golf, teaching their grandchildren to make pasta and marinara, travelling the world, reading books, playing games on the porch with their family, doing crossword puzzles, visiting with friends new and old, and especially being part of the lives of their children and grandchildren. In these last decades of his life Richard found his true happiness: his wife Kay, and the joys of their growing family. In 2019 he published an autobiography entitled, What Manner of Man is This …, so his family, and future generations would have the full story of his life. He is survived by Kay and their children, Stephen and his wife Katharine, Andrew and his fiancé Mary Ann Kuligowski, Todd Tilghman and his wife Cathleen, Scott Tilghman and his wife Tammy, Kathryn Tilghman Prause and her husband Jack, sixteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A Catholic Mass celebrating Richard’s life will be held Monday, June 21st, 2021, 11:00 a.m., at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Southport NC. A viewing will be held at Peacock, -Newman & White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport NC on June 20th, from 6:00-8:00 pm. Richard will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Navy–Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 N. Randolph Street, Suite 225, Arlington, VA 22203, https://www.nmcrs.org/, or, alternatively, Lower Cape Fear Life Care, SECU Hospice House, 955 Mercy Lane SE, Bolivia NC 28422, https://lifecare.org.

Online condolences may be made at www.peacocknewnamwhite.com.

Peacock - Newnam & White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport, NC.