Force: Army – trained as a welder and mechanic
James Gallivan was born on August 16, 1917 in Butte, Montana, USA. At the time, his parents Henry and Lillian (Ryan) Gallivan, were travelling on their way to the Peace River Country. Both parents, who were from New Brunswick, decided to homestead in the Valleyview district in 1920. Jim’s education was at the Roman Catholic Mission, where Henry worked at their farm and did carpentry. Jim did not board at the school; he rode horseback but when the weather was too cold, he stayed home. In 1940, Jim enlisted in the army. To get to Calgary, he hitched a ride in the back of a truck in -40 F. weather. Posted in England and the British Isles, Jim was trained as a welder and Mechanic. While on leave in Belfast, Ireland, in 1944, he met his future wife, Mary aka Maureen McCann. They were married on December 26, 1945 (?) * in Ireland, taking a honeymoon in Dublin. The couple lived with Grandpa McCann until Jim returned to Canada in February 1946. In March he was discharged from the force in Calgary. Since Maureen, who was only used to city life, did not want to go farming, Jim sought employment in Legal AB as a welder. However, this job was unsuitable, so in July he moved back to the homestead. Maureen was still in Ireland, but sailed to Montreal, then rode the train to Edmonton where Jim picked her up, and took her to the farm. Maureen was horrified at the muddy conditions. They moved to Vancouver in October, but since Henry needed his son to help him on the farm, they moved back to Valleyview in April 1947. There they built a 2-story house where they lived until it burned in a fire in 1968. Jim and Maureen had 4 children: Angela, James Cormac, Maureen, and Brian. In the 1950s, Jim worked on an oil rig, hauling cord wood for the boilers. He continued farming, and also enjoyed hunting and trapping. Maureen became ill with thyroid cancer, needed several operations in Edmonton for a few years. Retiring from farming in 1958, Jim moved to town. He died suddenly on July 9, 1959 and he was buried at the Valleyview Cemetery. Maureen remarried to Jay Burch in July 1960. (Jay was also a WW 2 veteran.) Jim’s parents both passed away in 1962.
Source: Valleyview (Where the Red Willow Grew) p. 303 – Name in Roll of Honour – War Veterans
- 85-88 (Gallivan family history)
*1946 in Gallivan History write-up, but may be an error