MICHAEL GALER, JR.

LOCKWOOD- A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Lockwood United Methodist Church for Michael John Galer, Jr., 70, Lockwood, who died Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at his home. A private family graveside service will be held in Lockwood Cemetery.

Services are under the direction of Lockwood Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Lockwood Chamber of Commerce or to the Lockwood Community Foundation for Community Development.

Online condolences may be shared at www.greenfieldfuneralchapel.com.

Mr. Galer was born Oct. 14, 1951, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Marjorie Shafer Galer and Michael John Galer. He was proud to be in an Air Force family where he enjoyed living in many locations; Torrejon Air Base, Madrid Spain; Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha Nebraska and Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, S.D. He graduated from Drake University with a degree in Business & Economics.

During his college years he worked summers in Estes Park, Colo. This is where he met his wife, Renee Lemons, in the summer of 1973. The two were married December 29, 1974. They returned to Estes Park in 1975 after Renee completed college at the University of Missouri and they purchased The Copper Penny. This was their introduction to the resort and souvenir industry. In 1980 they purchased screen printing equipment to print shirts and caps for the Copper Penny. Mr. Galer preferred screen printing to retail sales so they sold the Copper Penny and moved to Lockwood in 1983. Prairie Mountain has grown to be one of the leading suppliers to National Parks and resort areas across the United States. His mind was never at rest, he was constantly thinking of new products or tweaking colors in designs to make an item better than just okay.

Prairie Mountain is a group of extremely hard-working individuals. Their printing expertise, embroidery knowledge, warehouse and production skills, customer service and art have developed Prairie Mountain into a company he was extremely proud of. His wife Renee and her family would like to thank this amazing group of people. Through the years the two also opened Prairie Mercantile outlet store and Prairie Station restaurant, which includes another group of talented individuals.

Mr. Galer loved Lockwood and through the years was a part of the Lockwood Fire Department, the Lockwood Chamber of Commerce and the Dade County Health Development, which worked to get the Mercy Clinic built and staffed in Lockwood. He loved his two daughters, Leslie and Erika, more than anything in the world. He supported all their interests as they grew up whether it was barrel racing horses, softball pitching lessons, volleyball, basketball, water or snow skiing. He encouraged them to see the world.

During the past six years he was blessed with some special people in his life: Brent Crawford, April Spaulding, Dani Gamble, Lisa Baker, Adrian Crawford and Kyle Freyburger. These individuals were an extension of him and helped him with anything he required. They became family they could not live without.

Mr. Galer was extremely fortunate to have a family of brother-in-laws and sister-in laws that would try to accomplish anything he wanted. Between recovery in Denver, driving the van across Kansas, checking out venues for easy access, they spent countless hours at activities he wanted to do.