John Henry Galvin was born in Buffalo on July 11, 1931, the son of John J. and Mary Mahoney Galvin, and was a 1949 graduate of Buffalo Technical High School and 1953 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He received his law degree from the University of Buffalo Law School in 1959.
A commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, he served two years at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was an attorney for the Labor Relations Board in Buffalo before relocating to Watertown in the early 1960s. Mr. Galvin served as a labor relations advisor for numerous organizations and was named to the labor panel of the American Arbitration Association.
In 1963, a group of Watertown merchants organized a successful primary write-in campaign to place a then-unidentified candidate on the November ballot to run against Mayor William T. Lachenauer, who was running unopposed for a third term. At the November election, the candidate, John H. Galvin, won handily and was, at that time, the youngest mayor in the United States at the age of 32.
His term as Mayor was during the time of Urban Renewal and was marked by conflict and controversy between the Mayor and the City Manager regarding their roles in government.
On October 31, 1966, following weeks of rumors regarding him seeking employment elsewhere and closing his Watertown law practice, he resigned from his position as Mayor effective November 1.
Mr. Galvin returned to his hometown in the Buffalo area and worked for a time as a substitute teacher. He later moved to Washington, D.C. where he was associated with the Department of Labor and served as the general counsel to the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor until his death.
He was married to and divorced from Cassandra “Petey” Caraway O’Neill and had six children: three sons, David M.M. Galvin, John J. Galvin and Patrick Galvin; and three daughters, Nancy R. Galvin, Marie N. Galvin Hopkins and Diane “Marcel” Galvin O’Riley.
He died in Alexandria, Virginia on April 24, 1987 at the age of 55. He is buried in Java Center, a section of New York where his great-great-grandparents were pioneer settlers.
