Galen James Dunkleberger

Galen James Dunkleberger, beloved husband, son, father, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, and friend, passed away on September 25th, 2025, following a courageous battle with cancer.

Born on April 19, 1980, Galen spent his childhood growing up in idyllic Montoursville, PA. His love of the outdoors and fishing started here and remained with him through his life’s adventures where he lived in New Mexico, New Jersey, and back to Montoursville, PA. He attended Montoursville Area High School and Susquehanna University.

Galen married his college sweetheart, Ellen (Murphy) Dunkleberger, and they shared 20 wonderful years of marriage. During this time, they had four beautiful daughters, Adele, Gwenyth, Nora, and Violet Dunkleberger. He loved his girls so much and took them fishing, hiking, and kayaking – despite their occasional complaints. Galen enjoyed our annual trip to Cape May, NJ with extended family and friends. He was a member of Montoursville Presbyterian Church. He coached youth soccer and was an AYSO referee for years, retiring only after receiving his cancer diagnosis. He worked as a computer programmer and eventually a solutions architect with Amazon Web Services. Though he had a different job title, he was always an engineer at heart. His colleagues understood and supported him so much during his illness.

Galen is survived by his wife, children, mother and step-father, Catherine (Dunkleberger) and Robert Meacham, his grandfather, James Burger, his step-grandmother, Linda Dunkleberger, his sister and brother-in-law, Audrey and Michael Bonner; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Elaine and Martin Murphy; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Anne and Albert Schardien, Beth Murphy and Jeffrey Lippincott, and countless nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who were like brothers: Galen Bratton, Nicolas Catino, Kevin Boyle, Shawn Bonner, Kyle Hollick, and Nathan Bassler.

He was predeceased by his father, Steven Dunkleberger, and grandparents, Dalton Dunkleberger, Ruth Dunkleberger, and Linda Burger.

Galen showed tremendous fortitude during his illness. He endured so much to have additional precious time with us. In spite of the grueling treatments, the last year we had together was one of the best. Galen’s family would like to thank the care teams who supported him at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Geisinger.

Friends may call from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025, at the Montoursville Presbyterian Church (900 Elm St., Montoursville, PA 17754). Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., with Reverend David Smith officiating. The 11 a.m. service will be live streamed for those who are unable to make the trek to PA. Further details to follow. Private burial will follow at the Montoursville Cemetery.

If desired, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions could be made to Montoursville Presbyterian Church.

Arrangements have been entrusted to McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, Montoursville. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.mccartythomas.com.