Galligan, 31, succumbs to brain cancer

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Michael Devin Galligan remained a youth soccer coach even after his illness.

Spending his final years heightening brain cancer awareness, which included running the New York City marathon nine months after brain surgery, Michael Devin Galligan lost his seven-year battle with cancer Dec. 27. He was 31.

“He was a very gallant son,” said his mother, Kathleen Smoot Kemezis, who cited her son’s work to fight the disease he first contracted in 1996 when he was 24.

His efforts included his founding of the charity Strain for the Brain which raised money for cancer patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“A lot of what he did was to heighten awareness of brain cancer and to try to raise money for research,” Kemezis said. “He’d also talk to a lot of people who were facing surgery, suffering from brain cancer, because he had been through it.”

Along with his charitable organization and talks on Capitol Hill to help try to bring about a cure, Galligan also trained vigorously to enter triathlons and ironman contests after he was first diagnosed with brain cancer.

Galligan’s efforts to overcome the disease also earned him the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch during its most recent run through the country.

Galligan was involved in his community, teaching youth soccer in Lebanon. He continued his volunteer work even during his chemotherapy treatments. He was a member of Lebanon First United Methodist Church, Gilda’s Club and the Toastmasters Club. He was a graduate of Baylor High School and Fordham University of New York. He was an employee of State Street Bank in Nashville.