BLOOMINGTON — Galen R. Dolby, 53, of Bloomington, Indiana, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on October 3, 2007 after battling kidney cancer since February 2002. He was born on September 5, 1954 in Huntington, Indiana to Richard and Carolyn (Hite) Dolby.    Read More >>

Galen Dolby
1954 - 2007

It was a February day in 2002, when I first heard the news. My phone rang while I was watching the Indiana Hoosiers practice at Assembly Hall. Laura Dolby had called to tell me that her husband, Galen, my co-chaplain for Mike Davis’ team, was on his way home from a conference in Florida. Something was wrong. Galen was in severe pain, and had been sent home by a Florida hospital for further diagnosis.

It was kidney cancer, and this was the beginning of a five and a half year journey that ended with his death on October 3. Galen had the infected kidney removed at the time, and doctors thought the problem was solved, but as it happens in so many cases, the cancer returned with a vengeance. The word came from Laura in 2004 as were traveling to Ft. Wayne for the wedding of Kyle Hornsby. Kyle had been a solid contributor for the Hoosiers team, and the most consistent of our chapel attendees. Galen and I were in the wedding. He was already in Ft. Wayne on business, and Laura was traveling with us. From the back seat, she gave us the news that it did not look good. Some doctors thought he might not last a year. From that point, Galen became also an icon in the fight against cancer. He showed victims how to live, and then how to die.

Before the chapel became a reality in the year 2000, Galen and I were Hoosier fans from afar. Galen lived in Bloomington with his family, but had no access to sold-out Assembly Hall. In January of that year, we decided to attend a game, and bought some tickets from a scalper at a ridiculous price. Little did we realize that before another year rolled around, we would not only watch IU games from courtside, but we would become an integral part of the team.

Galen was a diehard Hoosier fan. He had often remarked to Laura after they moved to Bloomington in the early 90’s, that it would be fun to know some players, and go to games. I thought of that at his burial as three Hoosier ballplayers and a former manager were among his pallbearers. He could never have dreamed of that years earlier. After Bob Knight’s departure, the IU team was left in disarray. Mike Davis became head coach, and one of his ideas was to bring on a chaplain to help with the spiritual needs of the players. I was given that opportunity, and soon realized I needed a helper. Galen Dolby was that man.

He approached chapel duties as if every player should be his friend. It wasn’t a matter of collecting players with similar beliefs. It was all about being a friend to everyone he came in contact with, no matter what they believed. A great example was Cem Dinc. In 2005, Cem was a late recruit out of Turkey. Galen and I met him during the summer before the season started. Cem was looking for a car, and asked Galen some questions. The two became friends, and actually owned a car together. Dinc’s time in Bloomington was short lived. He didn’t finish the season with the Hoosiers, and eventually moved back to Germany to live with his father. But his relationship with Galen remained strong. Now playing for Harvard, he was anticipating hosting Galen and Laura at a game in Boston. But the clock ran out for Galen on this earth.

His motto in recent days had been, “I’m on the last lap, but it’s gonna be a sprint to the finish line.” Ironically, it may have been an American Cancer Society event that was his undoing. On the Saturday before his death, he attended the “Hoosiers Outrun Cancer” run/walk. He had the ever present smile, but the wheelchair was a giveaway as to his real condition. He came home feeling exhausted, and never really regained his strength.

On Friday October 12, less than a week after his death, Kelvin Sampson was the speaker at a “Coaches for Cancer” breakfast held in Assembly Hall. Kyle Hornsby spoke along with some others. Galen was to give his testimony. Instead, Laura stood in his place, and delivered the talk from the notes that Galen had penned earlier in anticipation of the event. Afterward, Kelvin Sampson hugged Laura and said, “I wish I would have known him.”

Those who did know him understand that in the arena of life, Galen was a superstar.

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