Remembering Eva Galambos: the mother of Sandy Springs

It’s been 10 years since the passing of Mayor Eva Galambos, who was known locally as the mother of Sandy Springs. Flags flew at half mast when she lost a battle with cancer at age 87 in April 2015.

As Sandy Springs celebrates 20 years of cityhood, Rough Draft is taking a look back in time at the city’s first mayor, who has been called tenacious, engaging, and enduring.

Galambos spent endless hours volunteering with Sandy Springs Revitalization, Sandy Springs Clean and Beautiful, Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods, and the Fulton County Public Housing Authority.

From 1975 to 2005, Galambos was the president of the Committee for Sandy Springs – the group that fought to incorporate Sandy Springs.

“She had that gift of bringing people onto her side, of coming to the table with you, explaining an idea to you and when she left you thought it was your idea because now she put you in charge of implementing it,” Sandy Springs City Council Member Tibby DeJulio said.

Galambos then served as mayor from November 2005 to November 2013. She told Rough Draft Atlanta in a closing interview that the creation of Sandy Springs was worth the fight.

“Not only have the citizens of Sandy Springs gained a more attractive city, with better infrastructure and new parks, but they are also enjoying the pleasures of civic involvement. The enthusiasm of our residents in participating in our public life is palpable. The next milestone will be a public downtown area where our folks can live, shop and enjoy each other, deriving all the benefits of urban life at its best,” Galambos said.

Longtime Mayor Rusty Paul remembered Galambos for her unflagging dedication before and after the city incorporated.

Sandy Springs’ strength “is due greatly to her unwavering love and devotion to creating something better for us all,” Paul said.

Galambos, many said, was one of a kind.

In a 2011 memoir, she wrote about her family’s escape from the Nazis in 1930s Germany for Genoa, Italy and later moving to Athens, GA. Her husband of 65 years, Dr. John Galambos, survived Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, but the pair did not meet until the late 1940s at the University of Georgia. The couple had three children and six grandchildren.

Galambos earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia, a master’s in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in economics from Georgia State University.

Revered for her labor economics expertise, Galambos was frequently recognized with awards and kudos.

She spoke regularly at The Epstein School about Holocaust education. Attorney General Sam Olens, a Republican and the state’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, called her “a tireless advocate of good government.”

Galambos was awarded the 2015 Humanitarian Award by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, a commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust as well as survivors and liberators.

Gabriel Sterling, a longtime Republican politician, said he was proud to work with Eva Galambos, Tibby DeJulio, and Mayor Rusty Paul.

“Hard to believe it’s been 20 years since that smashing referendum win of 94% YES for the City of @SandySpringsGA,” Sterling posted on X. “Eva’s vision for our city took years, decades to come to fruition. We now have one of the best cities in America to live, work, run a business, and raise a family.”

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