William Galvin Halligan

William (Bill) Galvin Halligan, of Media, PA, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 9th, at the age of 80.  Bill is survived by his loving wife, Carla (married 49 years), his two step-children - Troy Belver (Carole) and Selaine Keaton (Scott), and his two grandsons – Grayson and Trevor Keaton.  Bill was preceded in death by his sister - Patty (Halligan) Schaeffer in 2022.

Bill was born in Radnor, PA to William F. and Mildred (Galvin) Halligan, of Radnor and Charleston, SC, respectively.  Bill graduated high school in 1962 from Saint Katharine of Siena in Wayne, PA, and then proudly graduated from Villanova University in 1966 with a degree in Biology.

Bill began his career in 1966 as a teacher of Biology at Monsignor Bonner High School.  Not much older than his students he honed his gift of ease and natural humor to become an outstanding teacher.  He expanded his love of his theatrical side by directing the faculty in several plays.

Looking beyond teaching as his goal, initially he was drawn toward medicine but was intrigued by the idea of the Law.  He enrolled at Temple Law School, where he attended four nights a week while teaching full time at Bonner during the day.  He earned his law degree in 1972 and formed a partnership with fellow Temple grad, Howard Farber.

He joined the Delaware County Bar Association in 1972 with which he formed a long and rewarding relationship.  Serving on multiple committees, one of his favorites was the annual Bench Bar Conference.  Here he organized and managed the multiple golf outings that concluded with the presentation of awards.  This is where his wit and natural good humor came to fruition and established him as a beloved colleague.  Ultimately the tournament was named the William G. Halligan Golf Tournament.  In 1994 he served as President of the organization.

In 1973 Bill was hired by the Honorable Francis J. Catania and worked as his law clerk for 17 years in the Delaware County Courthouse.  Ultimately, he held the position of clerk to ten subsequent President Judges (Orphans Court) for over fifty years until his retirement from that position in 2023.  Bill credited Judge Catania as his mentor and to instilling in him his deep love and respect for the law and the courts.  He also discovered his talent for speech writing and his eloquence when it came to a specific subject.

Bill had associations with several law firms for his first 25 years.  In 1998 he created a firm with his daughter Selaine, naming it Halligan and Keaton.  Working in a ‘family law firm’ for the second half of his career was special and rewarding.

Bill’s interest in acting was how he met his wife, Carla, in the early 1970’s when they were both performing in a community theatre production.  Bill dedicated his time and talent to the law and Carla became a professional stage actor in the Philadelphia region for the next 50 years.  They were married in September 1975 (by Judge Catania) and supported each other in their careers for all the years to come.

Bill assumed the role of father to Troy and Selaine when they were young and rejoiced at the wonderful people they became and their accomplishments. In addition, there has been a very strong and everlasting bond formed between Bill and his grandsons (Grayson and Trevor). They are so grateful for all the stories and special time they have spent with their “Poppy.”

Bill also enjoyed teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Law – at Widener University from 1975 – 1990, and at Villanova University from 1982-2004, where he instructed Paralegal students.

After Bill’s retirement from the Courthouse in 2023, here’s how Bill explained his ‘purpose’ in his career, “You can only imagine what an incredible and exhilarating experience it was to practice law in the office, seeing clients, filing pleadings…all the things we as lawyers do…and then to go over to the Courthouse, into Chambers, and deal with the pleadings of other attorneys and view those other pleadings through the judicial lens – which, or course, helped immeasurably with our office practice as an attorney.  I consider that in my capacity as an attorney, and contemporaneously as a judicial assistant, truly one of the most rewarding and fulfilling accomplishments an attorney could ever experience.”

A Celebration of Life will be held, to welcome the special people in Bill’s life, on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Delaware County Bar Association Building, located at 335 West Front Street, Media, PA.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Bill’s memory to The Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, P.O. Box 1299, Skippack, PA 19474, or online at  The Center for Loss and Bereavement, https://bereavementcenter.org/ for which his family has a special connection.