Rev. Edward Francis Gallagher, O.P.

Gallagher, Rev. Edward Henry, O.P., 100, died on Thursday, Nov. 19, at Mt. St. Rita Health Centre in Cumberland. He was the oldest living and longest-serving member of the Dominican Friars (Order of Preachers) of the Province of St. Joseph, and was assigned to the Dominican Friars' Community at the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas at Providence College. Born Edward Francis Gallagher in Providence, on Sept. 16, 1909, he was the son of the late Michael Gallagher and the late Bridget (McGovern) Gallagher. He graduated fromLaSalle Academy in 1926 and attended Providence College from 1926-1927 and 1928-1929. In 1929 he entered the Dominican Friars' novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Ky., where he received the religious name Henry Maria. A year later he made his simple profession there. On June 10, 1936, he was ordained a priest by the Most Rev. Archbishop Amleto G. Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, at St. Dominic Church in Washington, D.C.In 1933 he received his B.A. from the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Ill. He also studied at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He earned an M.S. in mathematics from The Catholic University of America and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati. Fr. Gallagher served as chaplain for the Boy Scouts of the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens before joining the mathematics faculty of PC in 1939. At PC he taught mathematics for 37 years, serving as chairman of the department from 1966-1970 and retiring with the rank of professor in 1976. PC awarded him an honorary M.A. in 1958 and an honorary D.Sc. in 1965. While at PC, Fr. Gallagher served as moderator of the class of 1952, moderator of Veritas (PC's yearbook), director of the Third Order of St. Dominic Day Students' Group, moderator of the Ski Club, advisor to the Pine Tree Club, and was a member of the Pyramid Players. He was a member of Sigma Xi (the national scientific research honor society), the International Congress of Mathematicians, the Mathematics Teachers of Rhode Island, the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New England, the American Mathematical Society, and the Mathematical Association of America. From 1976-2004 Fr. Gallagher was assigned to St. Stephen Priory in Dover, Mass., where he devoted himself completely to the ministry of preaching. He was director of the Third Order of St. Dominic from 1976-1980, served as subprior from 1985-1988, and worked in the hospice ministry from 1987-1988. He continued his preaching ministry after returning to PC in 2004. By 2005 his health began to fail, and he became a resident of Steere House in Providence and then of the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Pawtucket. In addition to his fellow Dominican Friars, he is survived by a nephew, John Loughran, of Windsor Locks, Conn., and two nieces, Patricia Loughran Gustafson and Margaret Loughran Papini, both of Warwick, as well as by their children and grandchildren. His body will be received into the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas on Monday, November 23, at 4:00 p.m., with visitation following, concluding with the Office of the Dead at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for him there at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 24. Burial will follow in the Dominican Friars' Cemetery on the Providence College Campus. Donations in his memory may be made to Providence College, Office of Institutional Advancement, 549 River Avenue, Providence, RI 02918-0001, for the National Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. Boyleandsonfuneralhome.com