Robert W. Galligan Jr., a contractor who was known for decades of quiet community service in Provincetown and beyond, particularly in the recovery community, died of glioblastoma on July 14, 2025 at the Lily House in Wellfleet. He was 77.

“He was so gracious and grateful and level,” said Beau Babineau of Truro, Bob’s fellow contractor and friend of over 25 years.

The second oldest of six children, Bob was born in Boston on May 28, 1948 to the late Robert Galligan Sr., a publicist for the federal Dept. of Transportation and NASA, and Frances Galligan, a stay-at-home mom who, while raising the family in Sudbury, had a passion for volunteering — for kids with special needs, at a local food bank, and as a driver for people needing to get to medical appointments, said Bob’s youngest brother, Steve.

That early example made a lasting impression on Bob.

After graduating from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, he attended classes at both Mass. Bay Community College and Merrimack College. During that time he received letters with “horror stories” from friends who had been sent to fight in Vietnam, said Steve. It pushed Bob to become a conscientious objector who traded studying for “teaching people how to dodge the draft, which was his passion, much to my parents’ chagrin,” said his brother. “He cared about what was right and he cared about other people.”

It was an early example of how he spent his life helping others.

Bob went to the 1963 March on Washington and then to Woodstock; both fueled his perspective of “looking down on the establishment,” said Steve. That led him to leave Harwich, where he’d been living, for Truro, as he was drawn to the “free and easy lifestyle” of the Outer Cape. A self-taught contractor, he settled into living and working in Wellfleet and Provincetown.

In 1983, Bob met Provincetown windsurf-shop proprietor Abby Swan through a mutual friend at Fanizzi’s, and the two began what would become a longtime relationship, with Bob becoming a friend and mentor to Abby’s two children. The couple built two houses and renovated a third, with Bob also doing all the landscaping, and then managed the properties as rentals.

For a time, Bob was a volunteer firefighter in Provincetown.

Years later, when Abby’s son died of a drug overdose and she was no longer living with Bob, “he was still very much there for me,” she said. “Bob was a very quiet person. He talked, but he kept personal stuff close to his chest. But he was steady.”

In the ’80s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Abby said, they attended a healing group led by hairstylist Paul Richards, who had spent time with the well-known motivational speaker and author Louise Hay. “It was a wonderful, horrible time,” said Abby. “But we were here, and those were our friends. And Bob was a generous-hearted guy.”

She said that Bob was close with her daughter and, eventually, with her grandsons — both of whom worked at Ptown Bikes and once gave Bob a bike so he could ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge. Inspired to take part by Steve, a cancer survivor, Bob wound up doing the 165-to-185-mile bikeathon four times, most recently at age 76.

Mary DeAngelis met Bob and Abby in Provincetown 38 years ago and remembers being struck by their generous community involvement. “They drove guys to their doctors’ appointments, and I remember thinking how extraordinary it was, because they were these two straight people, but they were totally in,” she said.

Abby said that she and Bob stopped drinking and began their recovery together in 1985; Bob soon became a “sentinel” in that community, said Mary.

“He went to an AA meeting every day — and his main focus became helping people who showed up and were lost,” said Steve, adding that, in the days since Bob’s death, he has been inundated with calls and messages from people talking about the profound influence his brother had on their lives.

One of those people was Shawn McNulty, owner of the Lobster Pot — which Bob loved, especially its bouillabaisses. Shawn said he got sober 15 years ago while leaning on Bob for support.

“He was more than a guiding light,” said Shawn. “He was a really good, genuine man, and I treasured his friendship. I could call him up and he would make time, and that’s something rare.”

When it came to his generosity, Bob “never talked about it,” said Steve. “He was incredibly modest,” including in material matters, as Bob lived on the lower floor of “the most modest dwelling you could ever imagine,” with no TV and very few possessions. “The thing that mattered to him most was helping people.”

Being cared for at the Lily House hospice in his final days, added Beau, “was so fitting for him, because he was getting back what he’d been putting out.”

Bob is survived by his sister Ellen Sabino and husband John of Wellesley; sister Freida Colleton and husband John of Clinton; sister Martha Galligan and husband Todd Sagar of Richmond, Vt.; brother Marc Galligan and wife Millie of Rumson, N.J.; and brother Stephen Galligan and wife Midge of York, Maine and Vero Beach, Fla. He also leaves 13 nieces and nephews, all of whom cherished their Uncle Rob for his warmth, humor, and steady presence.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s memory may be made to the Lily House in Wellfleet.

Details of a celebration of Bob’s life have not yet been announced.