Louis J Galen

Galen, who moved to Los Angeles at age 6 with his mother, Faye, from Youngstown, Ohio, after his father died, made his name in finance. While in law school at USC, Galen and his mother formed Lynwood Savings & Loan. It grew into one of the major California-based thrift institutions, World Savings & Loan, and was brought under the umbrella of the Trans World Financial holding company. Galen's savings and loan organization merged with Golden West Financial of Oakland in 1975 to become one of the nation's biggest savings institutions. Galen remained on the board of that company until it was acquired last year by Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. Separately, Galen was chairman of a commercial bank in the San Fernando Valley, Transworld Bank, which was sold to Glendale Federal in 1997. He was known for a conservative approach toward his businesses that provided protection against the boom-and-bust cycles that victimized many of his competitors. On Galen's corporate board for a time was Alan Greenspan, the economist who later became chairman of the Federal Reserve. Galen grew up in West Los Angeles, graduating from Fairfax High School. He was a bombardier in the Army Air Forces during World War II, flying missions in Europe. Galen proposed marriage to Helene, his second wife, in front of 3,000 people at a USC-Notre Dame football rally, and he presented her with a Trojan marching band helmet on their wedding day. Galen's marriage to his first wife, the former Dena Wallerstein, with whom he had three children, ended in divorce. Along with the donations for the Galen Center, Galen and his wife also contributed to a sports-themed dining facility at USC's Heritage Hall that opened in 1999. In addition they endowed the Helene and Louis Galen Ceramics Studio in the USC School of Fine Arts and the Helene V. Galen Intermedia Lab. The Galens also contributed to the Palm Springs Art Museum, Eisenhower Medical Center, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, the McCallum Theatre, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Anti-Defamation League, Hebrew University and Cedars Sinai Medical Center, as well as the art and medical schools at USC. Along with his wife of 32 years, Galen is survived by their five children, Stafford Galen of Ingot, Calif.; Janet Galen of Duncansville, Pa.; Kenneth Galen of Rio De Janeiro; Dori Peterman Mostov of Los Angeles; and Nancy Peterman Goldstein of Mill Valley, Calif.; eleven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.