PCC Remembers Bill Galloway, Dead at 82

In the wake of the passing of an iconic Pasadenan on March 1, Pasadena City College leaders are remembering the life of Bill Galloway.

“The PCC family and community mourn the passing of a trailblazer, mentor, and leader in PCC alumnus Bill Galloway,” said Sandra Chen Lau, president of the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District. “Many of us have benefited from Bill’s generosity of wisdom, guidance, and time in his support of education because he believed education was the great equalizer of opportunity and achievement. We will continue to honor Bill’s legacy at PCC through our commitment to quality education for all.”

“Bill and his wife, Brenda, have had an enormous impact on the landscape of Pasadena City College,” said Erika Endrijonas, PCC’s Superintendent/President. “Galloway Plaza, which draws people through the east side of the campus on Colorado Boulevard, was the first facility at the college named for an African American. Bill’s consistent engagement with our students, faculty, and college community have made amazing things possible and inspired others to follow their lead.”

“Bill Galloway is the kind of community supporter and volunteer that every organization wants,” said Bobbi Abram, executive director of the PCC Foundation. “If Bill was involved in a project, you knew it would be successful. He and Brenda are more than donors. They are an integral part of the PCC family. The Foundation and the College are better because of them.”

Born in Mounds, Oklahoma, in 1941, Bill Galloway’s family owned and operated an animal farm. Bill 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.

When his parents relocated the family to Pasadena in 1955, Bill attended John Muir High School and eventually enrolled at 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.