Rev. Aloysius Carroll Galvin, S.J., 82, a beloved Jesuit priest who taught math and was a fixture at Georgetown Preparatory School since 1970, died of cancer in the Jesuit community at Prep on November 23, 2007, the feast of St. Columban.
Galvin, who was born in Baltimore on January 15, 1925, was one of four children born to John T. Galvin, Jr., and Agnes Mercedes Smith Galvin. His mother died when he was 5, and his mother's sister, Helen Regina Smith, married his father in 1931 and raised the children with loving care. Surviving him are his sister Ella Galvin O'Conor and his brother John Galvin III. His younger sister, Sr. Helen Mercedes, SND, predeceased him.
Galvin, or "Wish" as he was known by family and friends, attended Blessed Sacrament School in Baltimore and graduated from Loyola High School in Baltimore in 1942. He began at Loyola College in Baltimore in 1942, but entered the V-12 Navy College Training Program in 1943 and trained at Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg, Md. While serving in the Navy, he was the executive officer of a PCS subchaser, training in Miami and assigned to the Aleutian Islands. A sports enthusiast and basketball standout during his undergraduate years at Loyola College, he played basketball and boxed while in the Navy, and stayed an Orioles and Colts fan for many years. In 1946, he returned to Loyola College and graduated in 1948.
In August of 1948, he entered the Society of Jesus in the Maryland Province and was ordained a priest on June 23, 1957. Fr. Galvin taught English and Latin at St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia for one year and was the academic dean at Loyola College from 1959 to 1965. He took his final vows on August 15, 1965.
Galvin said he decided to become a Jesuit because he enjoyed the work of the Society of Jesus: teaching and working with children. "All the Jesuits I knew were happy," he said.
Galvin was inaugurated as the 17th president of the University of Scranton on September 24, 1965, and led the university until 1970, changing significant aspects of the campus and also planting the seeds that later changed the University's governance structure to be more inclusive; he left to teach at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Md.
After three days in the classroom, Galvin suffered a heart attack. He lived in the infirmary from 1970 to 1971 while he recovered, and was one of 18 Jesuits at Prep during those years. After his recovery, Galvin went back into the classroom to teach math and continued teaching through the 2006-2007 school year. He was a proponent of Prep athletics and frequently watched games from the sidelines, also serving as chaplain to the football team for many years. Most recently, he could be spotted on the sidelines in a golf cart, which was a gift from alumni.
Often named as a favorite teacher by students and alumni, known for his outgoing personality and humility, Fr. Galvin had a genuine care and concern for students and school staff. On October 26, 2007, he was inducted as an inaugural member of the Georgetown Prep Athletic Hall of Fame for counseling students over the years. According to the committee that selected Galvin for the award, "His general support helped guide many seniors to find continued academic, athletic and general success that goes way beyond Prep."
When asked why he stayed at Georgetown Prep for so many years, Galvin replied, "Nobody asked me to move and I was very happy here. It was a good religious community."