Friends and family, fellow RCMP officers, and colleagues from the media gathered at St. Agnes Church yesterday to remember Sgt. Mark Gallagher, who was killed in last month’s earthquake in Haiti.
The service was presided over by Rev. Dr. Cynthia Chenard, RCMP H-Division chaplain. Chenard said she recalled Gallagher’s “warm, welcoming way,” and his “heart for helping others.”
Atlantic Deputy Commissioner Steve Graham also spoke to Gallagher’s desire to help others, and of a profound sense of loss felt by the force in his death.
“(Gallagher was) supporting a country in desperate need of help,” he said. “And (he was) the kind of individual who steps up in cases such as this.”
Gallagher was serving on a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti when the earthquake struck close to Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12. After two days of searching, Gallagher’s body was found amidst the rubble and debris of his building.
Gallagher had been stationed in Haiti since July, 2009. He was scheduled to return to his home province of New Brunswick this April.
Meaghan Stewart, spokeswoman for the RCMP H-Division, worked with Gallagher for a year before his deployment to Haiti. She describes Gallagher as a down-to-earth man who was always put others first.
“He put everything in common terms, and would just make everybody feel so comfortable,” she said. “You could always go to Mark ... he was just a great man, if you want to wrap it up in one word, a great man.”
Stewart said that Gallagher’s love of the French language and desire to help others made him a perfect fit for the mission to Haiti.
“He cared so much about other people,” she said. “I know that he must have touched many peoples’ lives there, as he did in Nova Scotia.”
Gallagher leaves behind his wife, Lisa, and two children, Shane and Heather.
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Friends, loved ones remember ‘great man’
Scores of police officers attended a memorial service at St. Agnes Church yesterday to honour Sgt. Mark Gallagher, who was killed in last month’s earthquake in Haiti.
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