National Transportation Safety Board and NASA's Safety Advisory Group for Space Flight, Vernon L. Grose; US Congressman, George Nethercutt; Jerry Sage, WWII prisoner of war portrayed by Steve McQueen in the movie, The Great Escape; and musician Don Eagle, who toured with the USO during WWII and appeared in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (with fellow-Spokanite Bing Crosby), Night Has a Thousand Eyes (with Edward G. Robinson), and The Strip (with Mickey Rooney). After high school, Geraghty enrolled at the University of Washington, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. While attending the University of Washington, he served as president of the school's student body and worked on the staff of The Daily of the University of Washington student newspaper. He is a lifetime member of the University of Washington's Alumni Association. In 2011, the Department of Communication honored him with a membership to the Alumni Hall of Fame. Military Immediately following his graduation from college, Geraghty was drafted into the US Army and sent to boot camp at Fort Ord in California. He was then sent to Washington D.C., where he utilized his journalism degree by editing the Service Stripe military newspaper at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. After two years in the Army, Geraghty returned to Spokane, serving another two years in the Air Force Reserves. He was a Lieutenant, assigned to a post as the Public Information Officer in the Air National Guard. Marriage On April 19, 1958, Geraghty married Marlene Curtis at St Paschal's Catholic Church in Spokane. Together, they had four daughters, Marcella Maile, Sheila Geraghty, Brigid Krause, and Nora Boyle; and seven grandchildren. Two of his grandsons are graduates of the University of Washington, while another graduated from the Air Force Academy. While daughter Sheila is the business administrator for the Salvation Army in Spokane, Brigid serves as the volunteer services manager for Catholic Charities. Geraghty and his wife were separated in 1994 and divorced in 1997. In 2001, Geraghty and Kerry Lynch were married by Father Gerard O'Leary at St Joseph's Church, located in the countryside outside Limerick, Ireland. Geraghty and his wife share a common Irish heritage. They have visited Ireland more than a dozen times and Limerick city every two years. They have worked together in establishing and strengthening Spokane's Sister City relationship with Limerick.