Harold Gallivan, Jr. Obituary

Harold Francis Gallivan, Jr. passed from this life into the next on August 1, 2025. The son of Harold F. "Gally" and Jessie McGee McCall Gallivan, he was born at home, 22 Pinckney St. in Greenville SC on May 28, 1923. He loved life and aspired to be the last living US veteran of WWII. Harold was among the six generations of the Gallivan family to call St. Mary's Catholic Church his faith home. Throughout all his life as a devout Catholic, he attended weekly mass and worked tirelessly on many church projects and programs. Seeing only the good in all of those he knew, he lived by the teachings of Jesus, his Lord, and his soul is now in union with Him. Shaped by his unwavering values, Harold was a man of strong principles and great faith who loved his family deeply. He always chose to do what was right and honorable. Importantly, he instilled in his four sons his values of hard work, honesty, accuracy, truthfulness and love of family. His legacy includes having passed those values down to his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He had a humble, yet adventuresome spirit sprinkled with a marvelous sense of humor. From childhood, he dreamed of one day being a pilot and during WWII, he was first a statewide flight instructor; but feeling called to do more for his country, he joined the US Army Air Corps. Going oversees in 1944, he piloted B-24s "Flying the Hump" on over 50 dangerous missions, transporting badly needed flight fuel from India over the Himalaya mountains to bases in China. Among others, he was awarded The Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He exemplified everything that we know and love about "The Greatest Generation". With his family, he enjoyed numerous memorable trips in one of his Airstream travel trailers. Growing up in the age of radio, Harold became an Amateur Radio (Ham) operator, which for decades was a significant source of enjoyment for him. To his Ham Radio friends, he says, "30-no more; this is the end, and the 73-best regards". As an early adopter of personal computing, he found joy in teaching family members and others at a time when computers were more difficult to operate. One of his greatest desires was to be a cowboy. This was made easy while riding his pony "Tarzan", who lived in the backyard of his home on Pinckney St. He read untold numbers of cowboy novels and watched hundreds of cowboy movies and TV shows, most of those filmed in black and white. He watched them so many times, he could recite many of the actors' lines by heart. His favorites included Randolph Scott, Hoot Gibson, Tom Mix, James Arness, Chuck Connors, Buster Keaton, John Wayne, and Alan Ladd. After graduating from Greenville High School, Harold completed a postgraduate year at Darlington Preparatory School. He went on to Furman University and later majored in Civil Engineering at Clemson University, where he was inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma fraternity for academic excellence. Harold began his professional career at the First National Bank of Greenville. He subsequently joined his childhood friend, Perry Earle, Jr., at General Mortgage Co., which was ultimately sold to the Cameron Brown Co., a subsidiary of the First Union National Bank of North Carolina. Then in 1972, Harold founded Gallivan, Ltd., a real estate appraisal company from which he retired in the early 1990s. He was a member of the Poinsett Club, the Cotillion Club, and was a charter member of Green Valley Country Club. Harold was blessed to have two great loves in his life. His childhood sweetheart and first wife, Genevieve Mills, was the mother of his four sons. They were happily married for 50 years. After her death in 1995, he married Martha Coward Gould, with whom he lived for over 30 years. Many cherished memories are shared by members of his large family which include his four sons and two stepchildren. His sons are H. F. "Gally" Gallivan III (Fielding), H. Mills Gallivan (Carol Anne), Gene M. Gallivan (Therese) who preceded him, and Ladson T. Gallivan (Emilyn). His stepchildren are J. Eric Gould and Laura Gould Ramsey (Greg). Harold found great joy in being with his eight grandchildren and two step grandchildren. His grandchildren are W. Clark Gallivan (Katie), Graham W. Gallivan (Basil), Anne Genevieve Gallivan Templeton (Robb), H. Francis Gallivan IV, Archibald "Archie" T. Gallivan (deceased), Henry M. Gallivan, Jr. (Mandy), Harriet P. Gallivan Hoffman (Matt), and Mary Katherine Gallivan. His step-grandchildren are Morgan E. Ramsey and Gregory A. Ramsey, Jr. (Jessica). He also had 10 great grandchildren: Jack, Max, Sam and Graham Gallivan; Lillian, Caroline, and Mills III, Gallivan; and Benjamin, Chandler, and Gallivan "Gally" Hoffman. He has a brother James F. Gallivan who with his wife, Joan, lives in Nashville TN. He was predeceased by his sister Frances Gallivan Lineberger of Greenville SC. The family deeply appreciates the support of long-term and faithful caregivers, Jessie Berry and Calvin Phelps. All are welcome to the Recitation of the Rosary to be held at the downtown location of Thomas McAfee Funeral Home at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 4, 2025. Visitation with family and friends will follow until 7:00 p.m. All are also welcome to Harold's Funeral Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. Burial will be private. Family and friends may also visit at the home of Mills and Carol Anne Gallivan. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Francis Foundation for the Genevieve Gallivan Endowment, 1 St. Francis Dr., Greenville SC, 29601, or to the charity of one's choice. Friends are encouraged to share their favorite memories of Harold with the family by clicking on the button labeled "Share A Memory."