Patricia Mary Gallen

Patricia Gallen (“Pat”) died peacefully in Del Mar, CA on February 17, 2024. She lived a long and lovely life for 91 years.

Pat was born September 28, 1932 in St. Cloud, Minnesota as the third child of Barney and Blanche Bachman. She grew up living and playing on Lakes George and Alexander. She was a lake girl who embraced swimming, boating, fishing, skating and playing near or on the water. Water, and eventually the desert, were central in her life.

Pat graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI and began her career as a Speech Therapist. In Milwaukee, she met and married William Joseph Gallen (“Bill”) who was completing his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

Pat and Bill lived in Baltimore, MD and Stockholm, Sweden before returning to the Milwaukee area where they raised a family of seven children. Pat was a loving mother who experienced joy in the hum of family life. She was devoted to her children’s upbringing and fostered a caring, inquisitive and productive household. Pat was strengthened by her Catholic faith. Its traditions and practices were instilled into her approach to family, community and service to others.

Pat was an avid reader and life-long learner. She enjoyed traveling, singing, playing the piano, gardening, hosting bridge club, and dinners with friends. She was a tremendous baker of pies. Later she and Bill moved from Oconomowoc WI to the desert southwest, where she famously observed “when the mountains are pink, it’s time for a drink”. Pat and Bill found solace and contentment in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains where they made many friends and enjoyed hosting family Thanksgivings. Following Tucson, AZ, Pat and Bill would live the remainder of their lives close to two of their children and their families in San Diego, CA.

Pat is lovingly survived by her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews: Jeanne (Chris Lewandowski), Bill (Cecelia Robertson), Tom (Gigi Spitzer), Julie (Ken Eichstaedt), Mary Pat (Rick Kervahn) and Michael (Jacqueline Klein). Her greatest challenge and sorrow in life was the death of her youngest son John in 1996. Her grandchildren: Katie (Chris) Nowacki, Michael (Natalie Destefano) Lewandowski, Daniel (Anna) Lewandowski, James (Megan) Wilson Heller, Nikki (Bobby) Brown, Andy Gallen, Kenneth Eichstaedt, Alex Eichstaedt, Ashley Eichstaedt, Jack Gallen, Mylie Gallen, Travis Clark and Jacob Klein all carry her spirit and sense of adventure. She was thrilled to know of her great grandchildren Johnny and Josie Nowacki and Julian Heller. She is deeply loved and missed by special nieces: Patricia (Padge) Haas, Gretchen McFarren, Kathleen (K) Stevenson, Michelle Bachman and Jane Stevenson; and nephews: George Bachman, Robert Stevenson, William Stevenson and their extended families. She was preceded in death by her husband William Gallen and son John Gallen, as well as her sister Lois (Bachman) Stevenson, brother Clayton Bachman and recently her niece Marilyn (Stevenson) Storhaug.

We are grateful and thankful for the life of Patricia Bachman Gallen. We know that she is at peace with her loving husband and son near a beautiful lake or a desert path in the next place.

A celebration of life with family is scheduled for June, 2024 in WI. Memorial donations in honor of Patricia and her life may be made to Friends of Sabino Canyon https://sabinocanyon.org/memorial-donations/ or to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra https://www.mso.org/support/donate/.