Dean Gallion, the former owner of Gallion’s Corner Market in Castaic, died Friday at the age of 88 after a battle with cancer.
Born in Reeds Spring, Missouri, Gallion moved to Santa Clarita in 1937 when he was just 5 years old, and was part of the second graduating class at Hart High School in 1950.
Gallion married Gwen in 1951, and the couple raised their three children in the SCV.
“They’ve been here since the beginning,” Gallion’s great-granddaughter Juliette Edwards said. “My grandma talks about riding her horse from where Hart High School is now down to wherever my grandpa was working for Newhall Land and Farming during his lunch break, so they’ve been here since before Santa Clarita was Santa Clarita as we know it.”
In 1969, Gallion bought the property that would become Gallion’s Corner Market, which has sat in the northeast corner of the intersection of Castaic and Ridge Route roads for four decades.
“He would give the shirt off his back for anyone,” Juliette said. “He was a dad for those who didn’t have a dad. He was a grandpa for those who didn’t have a grandpa. … He was the supplement that you didn’t know you needed.”
Juliette’s mother and Gallion’s granddaughter Tami Edwards agreed, adding in a social media post, “The world has simply lost the best human that ever existed. He never missed a first day of school, a football game, a baseball game, a soccer game, a volleyball tournament, a birthday, and the list goes on and on. He loved his family with everything he had and cared for nothing but for everyone to be happy.”
Since Gallion’s passing, the family has received an outpouring of love and support, Juliette said.
“It’s been a little crazy as a great grandchild to see how expansive my grandpa’s legacy was and how many people he really touched,” Juliette added.
Gallion is survived by his wife, as well as their three children, six grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and one great great grandchild.
