The Hospice Path and Bill Gallagher

Regular listeners to NCPR know that we’ve been reporting in-depth on the ways that hospice programs can improve end-of-life care.

Our main partner in this series has been Bill Gallagher, a 10th Mountain Division veteran (he served in the Italian campaign in World War 2), long-time teacher, and former Harrietstown supervisor.

He lived with failing lungs for more than a year.

Early Monday morning, Bill passed away at home in Saranac Lake.

I spent a lot of hours with him in the final months of his life and he was an incredibly warm, honest, courageous and hilarious man.

He and his wife Tomi welcomed me into their home at a very difficult and complex time.

Devout Roman Catholics, they wanted to talk openly about the dying process and the ways that hospice can help.

On Monday, we’ll air the next story in The Hospice Path.  For today, I want to acknowledge Bill, Tomi, and their wonderful family.  They’ve been incredibly generous and welcoming, to me and NCPR.

Our thoughts are with them.

Tags: adirondacks, health