Stephen L. Gallagher Jr. ’61

Stephen L. Gallagher Jr. ’61 of Portland, Ore.; Mar. 12. After Brown, he joined the U.S. Air Force and later the Air National Guard. He studied law at the University of Oregon, working in private practice before being appointed to the Circuit Court of Multnomah County in 1981. He presided over numerous high-profile cases during his more than two decades on the bench. In 1996, he was one of the first judges in the United States to require a public agency to provide homosexual couples with the same medical, dental, and life insurance benefits it offered to married couples, a ruling that was initiated after Oregon Health Sciences University was found to be discriminating by denying benefits to the domestic partners of three gay employees. He served on the board of the Portland Opera and sang with the Balladeers at the Multnomah Athletic Club. He is survived by two daughters and a grandson.