Reverend Colonel Timothy Mannix Gahan, USMC (Retired)

23 May 1945—3 March 2026

Rev. Col. Timothy Mannix Gahan, USMC (Ret.), a resident of Lockhart and The Hermitage Farm, Rising Star, Texas, died on 3 March 2026 after a brief illness. Fr. Gahan was born on 23 May 1945 in Medford, Massachusetts, the fifth of nine children of the late Col. Theodore Patrick Gahan, USA (Ret.), and Mary Dorothea (née Feeny) Gahan. After completing a two-year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps, including duty in Vietnam, he graduated from the University of North Texas and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1970. He was an infantry officer, served in a variety of postings throughout the United States and overseas, and retired in the rank of Colonel after 27 years of active duty.

After retiring from the Marine Corps, he served as the Business Manager for the North American District of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter then as the Business Administrator for J.E. Wilson Advisors in Columbia, South Carolina.

Fr. Gahan was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Diocese of Charleston in 2007. He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph RC Church in Columbia and St. Andrew RC Church in Myrtle Beach before being appointed Pastor of St. Paul the Apostle RC Church in Spartanburg. After retiring from active ministry in 2015, he served as a supply priest in the Midlands of South Carolina until relocating to Lockhart in 2021.

He was married to the late Mary Patricia (née Hogan) Gahan and is survived by their two children, Terence (Catherine) Gahan of Lockhart and Kathleen (Dr. W. Leo) Smith of Lawrence, Kansas; six grandchildren—Brigid, Mary Patricia, Finbar, and Conan Gahan and Milo and Elizabeth Smith; five sisters, Sheila Betasso, Maura (George) Pfieffer, Heidi (Jimmy) Newell, Colleen (Terry) McFall, and Madonna (Joel) Hogue; and numerous nephews, nieces, grand-nephews, and grand-nieces. In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his three brothers, Patrick Gahan, Theodore P. Gahan, Jr. (Sandra), and Michael Gahan (Elizabeth), and by his brother-in-law Col. Joseph J. Betasso, USA (Ret.).

Fr. Gahan earned post-graduate degrees from Chapman University, the U.S. Naval War College, and St. Pope John XXIII National Seminary. He was the recipient of the 1971 Outstanding Ex-Student Award from Burges High School, El Paso, Texas and the 2001 Fidelis Award from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. He was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Knights of Columbus. A biography of him, written by his sister Colleen, titled From Leatherneck to Roman Collar was published in 2022.

Visitation will be held at 2:00 p.m. on 14 March 2026 at Thomason Funeral Home, 2220 S. Colorado St., Lockhart, Texas, and the Holy Rosary will be prayed for the repose of his soul at 3:00 p.m. A Requiem Mass will be offered at a later date at the Memorial Chapel, Marine Corps Base Quantico, with burial afterward at the National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Ava, Missouri or Regina Mater School, Austin, Texas.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.