Obituary for Bob M. Gallaway
Professor emeritus Bob M. Gallaway, 93, of Bryan passed away on Sunday, November 29, 2009, at his home after an extended illness. The memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, December 3, at A&M United Methodist Church in College Station. We invite those whose lives he touched to join in this celebration of Bob’s life.
Born on October 14, 1916, in Kosciusko, Miss., to Frank and Leiura Williams Gallaway, Bob moved with his family to Mercedes, Texas, in 1922. The seeds of later hobbies were planted in his early years as he and his siblings fished in the Gulf and worked the orchards and fields of the Rio Grande Valley.
In 1934, Bob joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked for two years in Arizona and New Mexico on forestry and dam projects. After his time in the CCC, he returned to Mercedes to graduate as valedictorian of his high school. At the age of 22, he hitchhiked from the Valley to Texas A&M University with 64 dollars in his pocket.
That summer, while working in Jacksonville, Texas, he met the love of his life and his wife of 69 years, Emily Susan Dillehay. They married in 1941. Bob continued his studies in chemical engineering at Texas A&M, graduating with the class of 1942. After graduation, Bob and Susan moved to Beaumont where he worked for Magnolia Petroleum for 19 months.
Because of a wartime shortage of college professors, Bob returned to Texas A&M in 1944, where he began a 42-year career in teaching and research in the civil engineering department. He completed a master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1946 and a master’s degree in civil engineering in 1956. Dubbed the “Pothole Professor” by Texas Monthly and “Bowtie Bob” by his students, Professor Gallaway directed the highway materials research division, worked as a research engineer for Texas Transportation Institute and mentored and taught nearly 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
In 1985, he retired from the university to pursue his own consulting business on a full-time basis. Author of more than 100 publications on asphalt-related topics, Bob was recognized for many accomplishments, most notably election as a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineering, induction into the Hot Mix Asphalt Hall of Fame, and recipient of both the TAMU Association of Former Students’ Distinguished Achievement Award in Research and Distinguished Graduate of Civil Engineering.
Out of necessity to help feed a family of eight, Bob learned to fish as a youngster on the Texas Gulf Coast under his father’s guidance. Bob patiently passed this skill onto each child, grandchild, and great-grandchild as soon as they could dig for worms and manage a cane pole. An avid gardener, he endeared himself to friends and coworkers with his prize-winning roses and vine-ripened vegetables.
He loved the game of golf and excelled on the putting green, always best at his “short game.” At only 5 feet, 4 inches, Professor Gallaway often said, “I’ve been a little short all my life.”
Bob Mitchel Gallaway will always be remembered for his quick wit, green thumb, and passion for teaching.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Leiura Gallaway; sister, Leise Robbins of Seattle; and brothers, Steve Gallaway of Fort Worth and Eddie Gallaway of Overton, Texas.
A kind, generous and loving husband, father and “Boompa,” he is survived by his wife of 69 years, Susan Dillehay Gallaway of Bryan; son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Judy Gallaway of Houston; daughters and sons-in-law, Suzanne and Richard A, Hall of Houston and Mary Cay and Thomas M. Woodfin of College Station; grandsons, Todd Hall and wife, Jean, of Katy, Texas, Bobby Hall of Houston and David Blackerby of College Station; granddaughters, Molly Gallaway Brooks and husband, Chris, of Houston and Laura Blackerby of College Station; five great-grandchildren; and sisters, Sybil Erwin of Medford, Ore., and Phylis Bailey of Dickinson, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Twin City Mission, P.O. Box 3490, Bryan, TX 77805-3490, or to A&M United Methodist Church, 417 University Dr., College Station, TX 77840, in memory of Bob Gallaway.
