Mary Jane Perkins Galer

Mary Jane Perkins Galer, a wife, mother, and grandmother who became an historian, educator, librarian, author and public servant, passed away Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at the age of 98.

Funeral services will be held 3:00 PM, Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at First Presbyterian Church 1100 1st Ave. Columbus, Ga. 31901. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. A private interment will be in the Historic Linwood Cemetery.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1924, Ms. Galer graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1945 with a B.A. in Education and began her professional career as a teacher and librarian. This led her to earn a master’s degree in library science from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1947.

Mary Jane yearned to travel but also to serve others. She found she could do both when becoming an Army Special Services librarian, setting up libraries for soldiers at bases around the world. It was on one of these assignments in 1951 that she met and married her husband of 66 years, US Army LTC (ret) Robert Fulton Galer. Later, during an assignment in Germany, one could spot them motoring around Europe in their Triumph TR-3 with their three small children in the back seat.  The young family moved to Columbus in 1960 when LTC Galer became Fort Benning’s Inspector General and Mary Jane acquired a position as post Librarian. In 1967, she joined the Columbus State University staff as Librarian and became an Associate Professor.  Her subsequent pursuit of an advanced degree in Political Science was interrupted when she felt the call to run for office.  In 1976, she won her election as a Georgia State Representative. Much of Mary Jane’s work as a legislator centered around the rights and well-being of women and children. Her accomplishments included improving child support enforcement law, and championing the Equal Rights Amendment. Her dedication to the rights of women and the state of Georgia remained until the day she died. Her many awards include the Certificate for Outstanding Achievement in Public Service, Soroptimist Award, and the Maxine Shapiro Goldenstein Freedom Award.

Ms. Galer is preceded in death by her husband, LTC (ret) Robert Fulton Galer.

Ms. Galer is survived by her three children, Frank Fulton Galer of Roanoke, VA; Robin R. Galer of Berkeley, CA; and Barbara J. Neufeld of Didsbury, Alberta; two grandchildren, Jeni Neufeld and Katie Benner; and three great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to: Chattahoochee Valley Community Foundation for Library Special Projects https://cfcv.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1858 or Georgia WIN List https://www.gawinlist.com/donate/