Richard Glidden Gallup

Dick was born in Denver, Colorado, on August 24, 1920, but moved to Long Beach with his grandmother, mother, and brother in 1926. He lived first on St. Joseph Avenue and then on Granada Avenue in Belmont Shore until June of 1940, when he joined the California National Guard as a member of the 251st Coast Artillery. Shortly thereafter, his unit was sent to the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It was while stationed there at Schofield Barracks, that he witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Less than a year and a half later, while on leave, he married Bette Maxwell Eyber on April 25, 1943.

After the war, he returned to his beloved Long Beach and attended Woodbury Business College on the GI Bill. He worked for Hancock Oil Company for ten years before starting his own accounting practice in 1958. He loved that work and remained active in it for the next thirty years, helping clients, family and friends solve their financial problems.

He and Bette bought a condominium at Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai in 1974, and they spent many happy vacations there -- over sixty in all -- until her death on February 9, 2007. He often said that the tranquil times they enjoyed there extended their lives by ten years. They were also able to take a dozen cruises during their retirement years, including a two-month cruise around the world.

Although slowed by injuries, surgeries and the general wear-and-tear of living into his tenth decade, Dick never gave up his interest in the world around him. He read voraciously, especially history, and he usually devoured two newspapers every day. One was always the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He loved Long Beach, and no one knew more about the history of Long Beach and Belmont Shore than he did. In 1994 he recorded a history of life in the Shore that was eventually published in the Grunion Gazette and in the Press-Telegram. His reminiscences about his experience at Pearl Harbor were also published in the Press. He was extremely proud of being featured in the newspaper he once delivered for five years as a boy.

He often remarked that nothing in this life is constant, except change. With his passing, however, we deeply regret the change that has been made in our lives. We will miss his enduring strength, his wise counsel and, of course, his love.

Dick is survived by his two sons, Tom Gallup of Cupertino, California, and Rob Gallup and his son, Jason, both of Long Beach; Tom's wife Jean Gallup, and their two daughters, Arianna Gallup Orleans and Abigail Gallup; Arianna's husband, David Orleans, and their son, Sunny Orleans; and his two loving care-givers of many years, Carmen and Ricky Castorena; and many, many friends.

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Luyben Family Dilday-Mottell Mortuary (562) 425-6401