Deceased January 7, 2005

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In Memory

In our freshman year, Bill Gallup arrived at Amherst from Newton, Mass., by way of the Kent School, carrying with him thirsts for knowledge and rowing. A quiet, unassuming man, he was liked by all who met him, an opinion that was given by all those classmates we talked to about Bill after his death. (His ears would have burned.) At the time of his January 2005 death, Bill lived in Lincoln, Mass., with his wife, Pamela, and their 9-year-old son, Tony, (who I believe is our class’s youngest child).

At Amherst, Bill was an economics major, but his true love was crew. He and I (John) as freshmen joined F. T. P. Plimpton ’50 and others in resuscitating the sport of crew after a 76-year long hiatus. Bill was a prime source of energy in obtaining and using an old wooden shell (received as a gift), organizing the group and building a boat shed. The boat shed was carried away by ice over its first winter, but crew at Amherst flourished and Bill was chosen to be captain in his senior year. His last visit to Amherst was to attend the dedication of the new F. T. P. Plimpton shell last year.

Following Amherst, Bill served in the U.S. Army in some sort of hush-hush position in the Pentagon. We (Bill and Van) used to have dinner together occasionally in Washington. He later demonstrated his thirst for knowledge by obtaining three master's degrees—in history from Boston University, in economic history from Boston College and in library science from Simmons College.

Bill was a professional librarian throughout his career, first at Boston College and later with Boston University, the Cardinal Spellman Philanthropic Museum and Regis College in Weston, Mass., from which he retired in 1992. After retirement, he volunteered at the Lincoln Public School Library.

Bill loved learning and loved the academic environment. His personal library contained 2,000 books. He was a scholar of the Civil War and was a member of the Civil War Round Table. He was fascinated by trains and their history during the growth of the nation. He was also interested in the industrial revolution, especially the paper industry. Bill never stopped researching these and other favorite topics until shortly before his death.

In addition to his wife, Pamela, and their son, Tony, Bill is survived by three sisters; two daughters, Constance MacDonald and Rebecca Ford, and two grandchildren. His classmates will miss him.

Pamela Gallup
John Waterman ’51
Van Tingley ’51