Thomas Gallagher, MD, a longtime UNMC faculty member remembered affectionately by his colleagues at the UNMC Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (DEM) and by the College of Allied Health Professions, died Aug. 13. He was 89.
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| Thomas Gallagher, MD |
Dr. Gallagher’s funeral Mass is set for today at 10:30 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 654 S. 86th St.
One of his four daughters, Mary Gallagher-Jansen, MD, herself a faculty member at UNMC, said the fond memories were mutual.
"My father loved UNMC," she said. "He was fond of his patients and remembered everyone by name even until the end.
"He could remember what year people graduated from residency even if he ran into them at the Hy-Vee."
Whitney Goldner, MD, professor of DEM, concurred that Dr. Gallagher kept his connections to medicine and to the med center.
"Dr. Gallagher was an inspiration for all of us," she said. "He was a fantastic endocrinologist and even in his retirement was committed to teaching and mentoring and being a part of the ‘endocrine community.’ I really appreciate his sage advice and words of wisdom over the years."
"He was a consummate clinician-educator, with a focus on bedside teaching, clinic and in the hospital," said Jennifer Larsen, MD. "He lived through and taught others during early days of diabetes treatments, including the conversion from urine to glucose testing and the first insulin pumps, yet believed strongly that glucose control mattered long before there was a study that proved it."
Dr. Gallagher played a key role in the founding of the physician assistant education program at UNMC. He also served as program director and medical director of the PA program from 1974-89. The PA program, and CAHP, honored him with a lifetime achievement award in 2015.
Ruth Gallagher Nelson, another of his daughters, noted that Dr. Gallagher was a skilled collaborator: "He worked out ideas and treatments for patients across disciplines — seeking out ideas and questions from every corner of the Med Center and VA. He loved the simple, elegant solutions but did the work for complex multi-faceted issues."
She recalled that when a teenage diabetes patient wanted to stay out all night for prom – something deemed risky in the early 1980s — Dr. Gallagher volunteered to remain awake and available, through a practice run and prom night itself, to make the dream come true.
Dr. Gallagher served in the U.S. Navy in Korea. He was on faculty at UNMC from 1970-1999. His official obituary, in the Omaha World-Herald, noted that he and wife Nancy were always first on the dance floor, and the last to leave.
Thanks for the great obituary on Dr. Gallagher. He was a delightful guy with an Irish twinkle in his eyes. He will be missed.
Dr. Gallagher was the ideal physician, both scientist and clinician. Because of his early research in endocrine testing, he understood the importance of the immunoassays the clinical laboratory was developing in the 1960s and '70s. He would often visit the hospital laboratory checking on his patient's results. His care for his patients was obvious to all and we greatly admired him.
Great physician and excellent teacher!
Beyond our mutual association with UNMC …..Tom & I have been next door neighbors- and both share a passion for gardening & sharing gardening tips etc… He and Nancy have been amazing to us as neighbors – the best you could hope for… He is going to be greatly missed by our family.