Galloway died on March 1.
Mayor Victor Gordo called Galloway a friend and a mentor on Monday.
“I can only say to those that didn’t know him, that Pasadena has truly lost a local champion and a very strong and dependable pillar of this community,” Gordo said.
In recent times, Galloway lived in District 6, which is represented by Steve Madison.
“He was extremely wise, compassionate and committed,” Madison said. “It was hard to go to a nonprofit and not see the Galloways. It was always a pleasure to do that.”
Assembly candidate and longtime friend Phlunte Riddle called Galloway a “community leader.”
“My family and I are heartbroken over the loss of Bill Galloway,” Riddle told Pasadena Now on Monday. “Bill was a wonderful husband, father and committed community leader who mentored so many people and had such a profound impact on many of our lives. Our prayers are with Brenda and the entire Galloway family during this very difficult time.”
Galloway was born in Mounds, Oklahoma, in 1941. His family owned and operated an animal farm.
He rode a horse to school every day, where only one teacher and all students—kindergarten through eighth grade—shared a single classroom.
In addition to learning how to ride a horse at the age of six, Bill also learned how to read, write, and do basic arithmetic alongside his Sooner State peers.
His family moved to in 1955, Bill attended John Muir High School and then PCC, where he studied drafting, architecture, and construction.
“My experience at PCC is what led me into engineering and construction,” Bill said. “I’ve always liked drafting and things of that nature, always liked designing.”
Bill began his career by working as a draftsman and a structural engineer for several firms, but his first entrepreneurial venture came when his mother encouraged him to get involved in real estate.
“I purchased my first investment property when I was 19 years old, just out of high school,” Bill said. “My mother was my first lender. She believed in owning real estate and always encouraged me to achieve my goals.”
After Bill married Brenda in 1968, they settled in Pasadena, agreeing there was no place they would rather be.
“There is a strong sense of community here,” Bill said. “People really get involved.”
Together, Bill and Brenda founded Summit Enterprises in 1976, a family-owned business that invests in residential commercial properties. They are also well known for their local and national philanthropy, with education being a top priority.
The Galloways established the Bill and Brenda Galloway Endowment for Education at the Pasadena Community Foundation, which supports K-12 education in local public schools. They were also honorees at PCC’s 90th anniversary gala in recognition of their longstanding support of the College.
An avid collector of fast cars, Bill would travel with Brenda to Monterey Car Week every year to watch the classic car race. As a couple, Bill and Brenda collected art and donated to arts organizations.
Bill has served on the boards of a wide variety of community organizations, including the PCC Foundation, Pasadena Development Corporation, Los Angeles County Judicial Procedures Commission, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and the William H. Johnson Foundation for Arts. He was the recipient of the Pasadena Museum of History’s Contemporary History Maker Award, the Community Leader Award for his involvement with the Pasadena NAACP, and he was elected by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to the Smithsonian National Board.
In 2000, Bill and Brenda endowed the Sculpture Garden Plaza to PCC—naming it Galloway Plaza—the College’s first facility named for an African American. Their other support for the college included a 2014 gift to the PCC Center for the Arts.
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