Michael Staples (Daily Gleaner) – A fallen Mountie affectionately remembered by some as “Puddles” is now at peace and enjoying a different kind of existence, the wife of Sgt. Mark Gallagher told hundreds of mourners Thursday in Woodstock.
Lisa Gallagher, his spouse of 30 years, said she’s confident her husband is now at the helm of a 40-foot seacraft with all its sails up.
“His cellphone is on one hip and his BlackBerry is on the other,” Gallagher said.
“One hand is on the wheel and the other is holding a huge bag of Lays potato chips (which he loved to eat). When he is not sailing, he is with each of us, encouraging us to dig deeper for patience, to dig deeper for strength and for the determination to make a difference.”
Mark Gallagher, who worked as an RCMP officer with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, died Jan. 12 when an earthquake struck the Caribbean nation.
Also killed was RCMP Chief Supt. Doug Coates, the acting commissioner of operations for the UN mission in Haiti. Coates was laid to rest Wednesday in Ottawa.
An ocean of Mountie red filled the streets of Woodstock during the early afternoon Thursday.
Members of the force, wearing the traditional Stetson and red serge uniforms, were joined by law-enforcement officials from across North America, as they paid homage to Gallagher.
His flag-draped coffin was carried into an overflowing St. Gertrude’s Catholic Church.
As many as 700 law-enforcement officials, including a large contingent from Fredericton, attended the service.
Among them was Gallagher’s brother Eugene, a member of the Bathurst Police Force.
A live broadcast of the service was streamed to the Carleton Civic Centre in Woodstock and to the Wesleyan Church in Moncton.
The 50-year-old former media relations officer with Codiac Regional RCMP in Moncton had just returned to Haiti from a Christmas trip home when the quake struck, destroying the building he was staying in.
Lisa Gallagher, who sat with her son Shane and daughter Heather, told mourners that her husband had a difficult time during his Christmas visit coming to grips with the lifestyle people had in Canada, compared to what he had seen in Haiti.
She described her husband as possessing a “gentle, kind spirit.”
“Know in your heart that he loves us all and that his gentle spirit will always guide us to do the right thing.”
Rev. Karl Ingersoll told the packed church how much he loved his good friend for, among other things, his sense of humour.
Ingersoll said the nickname “Puddles” was a handle that was given to Gallagher for his antics in initiating new running club members. He said his friend would intentionally jump in water puddles and splash them.
He praised Gallagher for his wisdom and his devotion to others.
RCMP commissioner William Elliott said it was a sad time for both the RCMP and the police family across Canada.
“I think it’s important that we honour Sgt. Gallagher and his sacrifice and that we come together to support his family and support each other,” he told The Daily Gleaner.
The commissioner said he had been in Haiti a couple of times prior to the earthquake and he found a challenging environment.
“I just have full admiration for Sgt. Gallagher and Chief Supt. Coates, who was also lost in the earthquake,” he said.
Such officers give up the comforts of home so they can go to far off places and make a difference, Elliott said.
Assistant commissioner Wayne Lang, commander of RCMP J Division, echoed Elliot’s words.
“It’s a very sad day for all of us, but at the same time, it’s inspirational,” Lang said in an interview. “Mark inspired a lot of people. He died doing what he wanted to and that was helping other people.”
Deputy chief Chris McNeil of the Halifax Regional Police Service said the law enforcement community is small in Atlantic Canada and when one is lost, it’s felt by all.
“When one goes down, you can’t help but think about the impact that has and you start seeing that in the faces you work with every day.”
Tom Hoban of the RCMP Veterans Association said he remembered Gallagher as a dedicated person.
“The veterans really were shocked by this happening,” Hoban said. “It was so sudden and out of the blue. We just felt it was necessary to show our respect for him.”
Dick Isabelle, a former commander at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, agreed that it was important to be in attendance.
Police officers are asked to do things that put them at great risk and when they end up paying the ultimate price, society needs to honour them, he said.
Gallagher will be buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Woodstock.
RCMP officer praised as ‘father figure’
Oliver Moore, Woodstock, N.B.
Globe & Mail Jan 29, 2010
Massed ranks of police officers marched behind the hearse as the flag-draped coffin of a “father figure” among RCMP officers in Haiti was driven slowly on the final steps of the journey from that devastated country to his home province.
The death of Sergeant Mark Gallagher in the Jan. 12 earthquake struck home across this region, where his role as a police spokesman had made him the familiar face of the law to many. In the area of Woodstock, N.B., his family was known and well liked, and he was admired for his willingness to help the less fortunate.
Hundreds lined the streets yesterday to pay their respects.
The vibrant red serge jackets of fellow Mounties dominated the procession to St. Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church, but there was also the light blue of the United Nations, the green of the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force, and navy tunics of police from across the country.
“Any man or woman that gives their life in her majesty’s service deserves a hero’s send-off,” said RCMP Sergeant Gilles Blinn, who had known and worked with Sgt. Gallagher for 10 years.
“We’re here celebrating Mark’s life today but there’s thousands of other families burying their dead in Haiti … and we grieve for them, too.”
In the century-old church in this small town about 100 kilometres west of Fredericton, Father Bill Brennan recalled Sgt. Gallagher’s “exceptional passion and courage and professionalism.” He cited the many ways the officer had heeded God’s call and urged the congregation to follow his example.
Lisa Gallagher told those at the service that her husband – whose guilty pleasure was bags of potato chips that he hid around the house – rarely got angry. “Mark was a gentle, kind spirit.”
But his last trip home from Haiti at Christmas was different.
“He had tremendous trouble reconciling our lifestyle to the misery he was seeing in Haiti,” she said.
Hundreds who couldn’t get into the church yesterday lined the streets for the procession and moved to a nearby civic centre to watch a broadcast of the service.
“It’s on a lot of people’s minds,” Woodstock resident Ron Ruckstuhl said. “It gives a lot of thought to what these RCMP officers are doing in Haiti.”
Sgt. Gallagher was one of two Mounties killed in the earthquake. The 50-year-old was completing a nine-month term with the UN peacekeeping mission. His body, along with that of Superintendent Doug Coates, was found in the ruins of their residence in Port-au-Prince.
An RCMP officer on the flight that brought Sgt. Gallagher’s coffin home praised the officer as a leader.
“He was our mentor. He was our leader. For me, he was more of a father figure,” said Corporal Christine Briand, struggling through tears.