Geraldine Beatrice Kilgannon

Geraldine Beatrice Kilgannon (Galavan) "Just call me Gerry" Gerry's long life was rich in transformations, and indeed, social change became the driving force in her life, for herself, for society, for the Planet. She was born March 7, 1926, the oldest child in a family of eight children in small-town central Alberta just before the Depression years. Her maternal grandparents had brought their Acadian-French family to the prairies to run a railway station in Big Valley, where a young English-born wandering land surveyor, Gerald Galavan, met and wooed Beatrice Arsenault. The family stayed and grew there, where Gerry entered school and competed fiercely to be the first in her class in rivalry with the boys, a trait that shaped her life to come.
In search of a better chance in dire times, the family moved to Camrose, Alberta, and finally to Edmonton. One of Gerry's seminal stories was how she stayed behind to pack and clean the house and then had to make her own way to the Big City to find where her parents had settled. That she did was a testament to her resilience and intelligence, but also reveals how much was put on her shoulders at a young age and her resolve to excel.
She was enrolled in the all-girl Catholic high school but her education there was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. She left school at age 16 to travel to Toronto for training and then to Montreal, Winnipeg and Edmonton to work as a civilian radio operator in support of the Air Force pilots making their flights to the war zone. She learned Morse code, all about weather patterns, and how to take care of herself far from home and family. She worked hard, had some adventures, made friends, and returned home-briefly she thought-after the war, wearing a glamorous fur coat she had bought herself. Her goal at the time was to learn Spanish and move to New York to work at the new United Nations, or alternatively take nurses' training in preparation for becoming a stewardess.
Instead, she was swept off her feet by tall, good-looking Jim Kilgannon, who was eager to build a life and a business after his own war service. They married in 1947 and set about rebuilding an old house on the St. Albert Trail on the outskirts of Edmonton and raising pure-bred dogs, while Jim worked as a carpenter and locksmith at the University of Alberta. Soon enough Karen was born, and then Janet and Anne. Either the house was too small or they were restless and found a new 10-acre place south of Edmonton just off the main highway to Calgary. Again, they renovated and added to an old farmhouse as Desmond, Christine, Patrick and finally William-Bill-arrived to make an active family. At first, the house had only a coal and wood stove, a kitchen pump that drew cold water from a basement cistern, and an outdoor privy. Gerry raised and sold chickens to help fund improvements that barely kept pace with the growing family. But she was determined to make a home and thrive. They built their business, Redwood Kennels, in these years to create what some say was the largest business of its kind in western Canada. It was both a boarding facility and a carefully nurtured breeding kennel. While Jim rose in the ranks of dog show judging and eventually became an international judge, Gerry had a supporting role being the dog show announcer and telling the audience the fine points of each breed. By the time of Bill's birth in October 1963, the business was prosperous enough so Jim could resign his day job at the University of Alberta and devote himself to the business. Gerry kept the books and helped with customers.
Life was busy! There was the daily round of keeping everyone fed and presentable, and the seasonal work of gardening, canning, and getting through Alberta winters. As the kids went off to Ellerslie school, our local county school, Gerry became involved in the Home and School Association. This was not the usual cookie baking PTA, but more about curriculum planning and the policies behind the teaching that informed the school system. Gerry reveled in the intellectual stimulation and made a close friend in Betty Garbett, her mentor in school politics. She went to meetings and even conferences and began to learn public speaking and soon realized she had ideas others respected. A door opened.
Gerry opened doors for her daughters, meanwhile: she sent the three oldest to Montreal to experience Expo '67, a life-changing experience for each of them. And she enrolled in high school correspondence courses and worked into the night to graduate and get those missed credentials that war work had postponed. She began to think about more for herself, all those early dreams that had been put on a shelf. New ideas filtered in: she became a devotee of the CBC program "Take Thirty" hosted by Adrienne Clarkson which featured guests who discussed women's issues, books and current events. She would uncharacteristically sit down to listen, while enjoying a cigarette, and immerse herself in a world of radical thought. An idea of going to university was born but held secretly as being rather fantastic in the circumstances. But secrets make for tension and paths that diverge sometimes only grow apart as hearts yearn for different ends. Not easily, but in retrospect inevitably, the marriage unraveled and Gerry moved with the six children who were still at home into a house in Edmonton. Although the economics were tough, it was a time of liberation and exploration of a kind that was heady and transformative.
Gerry subscribed to Psychology Today and Pace magazine that chronicled all the exciting developments that were refashioning society in the Sixties. She began to wear looser, more colourful clothes and enjoyed endless discussions about where the world was going and what she wanted to do in it. She enrolled in an English course at the University of Alberta to begin her studies. She had wanted to go to Law School but instead turned to Education and built upon her experiences in the Home and School Association. She read Abraham Maslow and discovered the stages of development that reached ever upward to self-actualization; her own life confirmed the truth of this idea. The concept of "self esteem" revolutionized her thinking and parenting >Retirement was no sit-down affair, but allowed her freedom to travel and get more involved in organizations like the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Gerry made frequent trips to visit her scattered family and explore Quebec, the Maritime provinces, Washington State and the Oregon coast. She traveled to Europe, Ireland, India-three times-and Central America and Cuba. She became interested in the power of film to educate viewers about social justice issues, political movements and living conditions around the world; she was especially keen on investigating food systems and promoting organic farming. Gerry walked the talk and became an enthusiastic vegetarian. She was passionate about building awareness of the awful legacy of the residential schools that blighted the childhood of First Nations peoples before that was widely acknowledged. She gave workshops and joined a Seniors Advocacy organization to advocate for older women's needs and rights. She was recognized for her community work in B.C.'s lower mainland with the 2001 Woman of Excellence Award for Community and Humanitarian Services.
Gerry believed that families needed community support and that all generations had something of value to offer each other. She became active in the cohousing movement and helped found and lived in two successful co-housing communities, Windsong in Langley, B.C. and later Yarrow Eco-Village Society in the Fraser Valley. She was in her element fashioning structures of governance and collaborating with others to create new models of relationship. She was a supporter of Glen Valley Farm and other efforts to promote more ecologically oriented life>In 2011 Gerry made another life change and moved to Victoria. She focused more on her personal health, taking long walks in the city, reveling in the beauty of Beacon Hill Park, actively enjoying the Aqua-fit classes at her local YWCA, and making new friends. She got involved with a group exploring cohousing options in Victoria, but in the end chose to live in a seniors' apartment. As her health began to slip, her family, always close and involved, became her primary focus and support. She watched her grandchildren grow and take their places as young adults with affection and always welcomed visits from her children. Lively games of cribbage and Banana-gram, puzzles, books, and CBC radio programs kept her focus on the world and the people she loved. But gradually, her world became smaller and inward focused. She was gracious to all who helped her and patient with her disabilities and appreciative of the compassionate care she received from the staff at Amica on the Gorge for one and a half years. Gerry passed away June 9, 2020, at peace with herself and unafraid. Gerry's life will be honored by her family who hold her memory and example in their hearts: Karen (Fred Martin), grand-daughter Sarah, and step-grandson Cheyenne Martin, his wife, Jill, and their daughters, Alice and Jane Mahoney Martin; Anne (Gary Robinson), grandson Colin and wife Caitlin, grand-daughter Katherine and husband Aaron; Desmond (Claudia), grandson Jonathan, grand-daughter Alison and husband Andres, grand-daughter Rosie; Christine LaForge (Peter Hahn), grandson Richard LaForge and wife Laura, grandson James LaForge; Pat (Karen) grandson Trevor and wife Erica, grandson Russell and wife Robin; Bill (Susan Petrina), grandsons Ian and Neil. Gerry's second daughter Jan predeceased her in 2014, still missed by son-in-law Frank Baird and his daughter Tara and her family. In remembrance of Gerry, the family suggests planting trees or memorial gardens, or by committing simple acts of kindness for the sake of the world. A Celebration of Life will be held in the future when more travel and gathering is possible.