Kathleen Gallivan
elevated 4OQRR March 15, 1959 – February 27, 2026
elevated 4OQRR Obituary
Kathleen Gallivan passed away after a brief illness on February 27 at the age of 66.
elevated 4OQRR She was the beloved daughter of Robert Gallivan and the late Sheila Gallivan. She is survived by her spouse Drew Fagan and her sisters Anne Marie (Ed), Jennifer (Jeff) and Monica (Mike). She was predeceased by her sister Beth. She was the adored aunt to nine nieces and nephews — Chris, Jeff, Jenna, Emma, Aidan, Paige, Claire, Sam and Austin as well as six young grandnieces and grandnephews. (The photo was taken in mid-February in Saskatchewan with three-month-old Nara.)
elevated 4OQRR Kathleen had a brilliant mind and a generous spirit. She graduated from Queen’s and UofT Law and made her mark in the field of poverty law and by advocating for women. It was challenging but meaningful work. She was remarkable — stoic, spiritual, intellectual and broad-minded. She will be sorely missed by many, many friends.
elevated 4OQRR There will be a funeral service and interment to be attended by family. A gathering will be held to remember Kathleen and to celebrate her life on Friday, June 5 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto (1 Devonshire Place).
Our deepest condolences for the loss of your beautiful Kathleen. We are thinking of you and wishing you all peace. Prayers and hugs.
Drew, Wendy and I send you our deepest condolences. We were saddened to hear of Kathleen’s passing. Wendy worked with Kathleen many years ago and they were reacquainted at April’s cottage May her memory be a blessing.
I’m so sorry for the loss of Kathleen, Drew. My thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
Our deepest condolences to you Drew. She was a beautiful and loved woman. Such a tragedy for the world to lose such a devoted advocate. May her spirit continue to inspire your family. Love Cousin Dawna (Lustig) Saba, Michael, Janet and Peter Lustig
Drew, my heart goes out to you and to your family. The loss of Kathleen will be a difficult passage for all of you. I hope that knowing you have each other to help you through is some relief and allows you the space to celebrate her and the time and love you had with her. Take care, my friend.
Drew I am so deeply sorry. Kathleen made all of our lives richer, more fun and more interesting. Please know I’m thinking of you at this difficult time.
Sharing our sympathy and hugs at this sad time for you Drew.
You are in our thoughts
Hardie and Leslie
Jim and Dianne, Susan and Tom, Joan and Jimmy, Sharon and Ross and our families
Kathleen lived a fuller life than most, and lived it with joy and love. She devoted her sharp mind and generous heart to work that truly mattered: poverty law and advocacy for women, quietly improving many lives along the way.
We will best remember her warm laugh, curiosity, and unmistakable zest for life. Our hearts go out to Drew, her family, and all who loved her.
Kathleen was so full of life and energy that it is hard to imagine she is no longer with us.
She had a curious mind and a deep compassion for those less fortunate than herself.
During her short life she did much good work.
Kathleen left her positive mark on the world and will be greatly missed.
Condolences Drew. Kathleen had such vitality and curiosity that it is hard to understand or accept her sudden loss. In the days ahead, perhaps there will be comfort in knowing that she had huge, positive impact on everyone she met. She will not be forgotten. Hugs.
My deepest condolences Drew, to you, and to all of Kathleen’s family. During this difficult time, I hope that you will find some small measure of comfort in the memories that rest in your heart, and the love of those that surround you.
With such a vast amount of time it would not be a certainty that passing Kathleen on Yonge St would have led to an impromptu reunion or even any recognition–unless she was smiling. Her smile was both contagious and unforgettable.
Kathleen was a member of a student group that sought to align Queen’s University’s investment policy with the civic responsibility it attempted to engender in its students. Just at the dawn of the ‘Me’ generation that would characterize Bay and Wall Streets and our wider society, Queen’s, to the shock of many, became the hotbed for student activism in North America.
The feckless administration was no match for a group of students advised by a coterie of spiritual advisers (Fr Bill Burns, Rt Rev, Hon Lois Wilson, the staff at the Taskforce on Churches and Corporate Responsibility…) and leading academics recruited by the university itself (Associate Dean of Arts&Sci, politics professors renown for work in theory, neo-colonialism, elites and the schools of political criticism popular at the time and the Douglas Hall librarian).
Students received an informal education in realpolitik. They protested at Richardson Hall, organized Canada’s largest human rights conference, held interventions at the Toronto shareholders’ meetings of their favourite multinational (proxy shares courtesy TCCR), campaigned to elect a grad student to the alumni board of directors, drafted a petition calling for social responsibility that was signed by a third of the staff and faculty, hosted a lecture by Dr. Ralph Miliband and undertook an aggressive media campaign.
On March 6, 1981, Canada’s top political satirist, came to Kingston to give a talk and somehow coffee with Kathleen was squeezed into his agenda. The following week Allan Fotheringham published his weekly column in Maclean’s entitled ‘The Splendor that is Queen’s.’ Her influence is obvious. It is hard to determine the degree to which Kathleen is addressing us through Fotheringham’s typewriter. “Social responsibility is the new obsession of the campus movers and joggers, the belief that students must ensure that their university acts as a responsible citizen in society at large. No university endowment funds invested in firms that do truck or trade with South Africa and other such nasties, no university involvement in questionable military research….The talk is of “divesting”–forcing universities to ditch their connections with corporate heavies who are not lily-white in darker areas of the globe”.
The administration’s Committee on Social Responsibility is now a thing of the past and the University finds it much more convenient to green wash Queen’s role as ‘a responsible citizen in society’ and hide behind a policy of neutrality–lest any stakeholder group take offence.
Kathleen exhibited no such moral ambivalence–she did not need a PhD to know the difference between right and wrong, action and inaction, bravery and cowardice.