I’m so glad that Stu studied dragonfly’s. The month of September and August are full of them and each time I see one I get to think of Stu.  I’ve been missing him lots lately. I have so many questions to ask about the many things that interested him. Just as Bill Pence said, “He really was just that smart” and a very willing, kind teacher. Thank you for reminding me of those Saturday competitions . Stu always came to my house after with a new slid-ruler tucked under his arm. I found many when clearing out the house.

How much I love him. 

Fritzi

He Was Just That Smart

Stuart Galley and I were both at Grossmont HS in San Diego county in 1960. Stu was a sophomore and I was a junior. We were both in the AP program.

One day my math teacher announced that we should consider competing at the Occidental College Math Field Day, a competition open to high school students from all over California. I got A's in math and held a high opinion of my skills so I rallied a couple of my fellow juniors (who also fancied their aptitude) and decided to enter. I knew that Stu was the top math student in the sophomore class so I invited him to join us.

We drove to Pasadena and entered the same event--a test that required speed and intuition to solve pages of problems one hour. I had to skip quite a few during the allotted time. Stuart probably solved them all and left early. When they announced, "First Prize, Stuart Galley," my fellow Grossmont juniors cheered as the juniors and seniors from over 100 other high schools politely clapped.

We returned to the Occidental Math Field Day in 1961. I knew enough to not compete against Stu, so I entered a "presentation event" and talked about Transcendental Numbers. Once again, Stuart beat the state's best. The judges made special mention that it was his second win. I picked up a few fourth place points and Grossmont HS won the team award.

The next year, I went to Caltech; Stu also chose Caltech the following year. I always admired his calm demeanor and modesty; his behavior masked his genius. Lots of folks get degrees from Caltech and MIT; some of them start companies, but it's rare young sophomore that beats the socks off of juniors and seniors of the best high schools in California--he was just that smart.