Patrick J. Gallagher Jr., 86; co-owned taxi firm

"Call me if you need me."

Patrick J. Gallagher Jr., 86, who died of Parkinson's disease on Saturday at home in Narberth, lived by those words.

He and his identical twin, Francis, operated Patrick Gallagher's Sons Taxi of Bala Cynwyd for more than 50 years and were volunteer firefighters at Union Fire Station for 65 years.

Mr. Gallagher was a man of service to family, community, business and church.

Throughout his high school years at St. Thomas More (Class of 1939), Mr. Gallagher and his twin worked for the taxi and limousine service their father, Patrick, founded in 1910 with a two-horse carriage.

Mr. Gallagher's father shuttled Main Liners back and forth from the west side of the Merion Station to their homes, and Mr. Gallagher's uncle, Mike, did the same thing on the other side of the tracks. The streets were dirt roads, and the Gallaghers paid tolls along Montgomery and Lancaster Avenues.

Model T Fords replaced the horses in 1918. They were followed by Chevrolets, Nashes, Pontiacs, Plymouths and limousines.

In 1942, Mr. Gallagher enlisted in the Army to fight in World War II, but was refused entry because of a heart condition. Francis served in the Army artillery and fought in Europe until the end of the war.

The twins took over the business in 1959 and expanded it. They transported wealthy clients such as Clayton Strawbridge, the Von Trapp family (of The Sound of Music fame), and Philadelphia lawyers to Center City, the airport, Atlantic City and New York.

In 1946, Mr. Gallagher married Margaret McKee and Francis Gallagher married her sister, Anne McKee, in a huge double wedding at St. Colman Roman Catholic Church in Ardmore. The father of the brides walked down the aisle with a daughter on each arm. More than 500 people attended the wedding and reception at the couples' home in Narberth.

The two couples lived together in the six-bedroom house on Woodbine Avenue.

They raised 14 children together. Mr. Gallagher and his wife had six children, and his twin and sister-in-law had eight. The children called them "the mothers" and "the fathers." His widow, brother and sister-in-law still live in the house.

The mothers helped each other out and worked as dispatchers and bookkeepers for the business. The twins took shifts driving cabs and limousines. When Mr. Gallagher worked the night shift, the other couple made the meals and their children did the dishes - and vice versa.

"Everyone pitched in," Mr. Gallagher's sister-in-law, Anne, said. "It was very convenient, and the living situation kept overhead down for the business."

When not behind the wheel of a taxi or limo, Mr. Gallagher and his twin were volunteer firemen for 65 years with the Union Fire Association of Bala Cynwyd.

"My father, who was a captain for 15 years, responded to more than 7,500 fire calls," his daughter Margaret Nelson said. "The last call he answered was three weeks ago."

Mr. Gallagher, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 13 years ago, and his brother retired from the taxi business in 1988, when Joe Gallagher, the son of Francis and Anne, took it over before closing it last week.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Gallagher coordinated backyard Gallagher Fair and Beef and Beer fund-raisers.

"We sold tickets at the gate to hundreds of guests and raised between $5,000 to $7,000 for the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity," said Mr. Gallagher's daughter Sister Ann of the Trinitarian Sisters. "We also charged them to swim in our pool."

Mr. Gallagher, who parted his hair on the right, and his twin, who parted his on the left, were almost impossible to tell apart, Sister Ann said. "When our immediate family got together for their 80th birthday, there were 70 of us."

In addition to his wife, brother, daughters and sister-in-law, Mr. Gallagher is survived by daughters Catherine Malatack and Elizabeth Falcone; sons Patrick J. III and Anthony; and 16 grandchildren.

Friends may visit at 6 tonight and at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at McConaghy Funeral Home, 328 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore. A Funeral Mass will follow at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church, 210 N. Narberth Ave., Narberth. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Donations may be made to Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, 3501 Solly Ave., Philadelphia 19136.