- Date Of Birth: September 24, 1941
- Date Of Death: February 16, 2014
- State: Maine
John Walter Gillis
September 24, 1941
February 16, 2014
Westbrook – John Walter Gillis, 72 of Westbrook passed away on February 16, 2014. He was born on September 24, 1941, to James and Grace Gillis in Cambridge, MA, and grew up in Middleboro, MA. He was a 1958 graduate of Middleboro High School. He served in the United States Air Force for 20 years as an x-ray technician and recruiter. He was pre-deceased by his parents, as well as his siblings and their spouses Grace and Donald Costa, Michael Gillis, Bobby Willis, Bill Genson, and James and Kathy Gillis.
John is survived by his wife of 50 years, Linda (McGuire) Gillis, and his children and their spouses Theresa Gillis, Kathleen and Dennis Dobecki, Timothy Gillis, and Colleen and Scott Pereira, and his grandchildren Molly and Ethan Hibler; Lindsay, Madison, Alexander and Hannah Dobecki; Anna, Dylan and Owen Gillis; and Evan, Haley and Eliza Pereira; and his siblings and their spouses Terri and Tino DiGiovanni, Patricia Willis, Rose Teixeira, Kate Genson, Bob Gillis and Liz Lynch, Richard and Kim Gillis, Chuck Gillis, Lynne Gillis, and Bill and Denise Gillis, and in-laws Ronald McGuire, James McGuire, and Michael and Diane McGuire, as well as an abundance of nieces, nephews, cousins, and kin.
John Gillis was a man of amazing faith – in himself, in others, and in the human capacity for kindness, forgiveness, and love. After retiring from the Air Force, he started his own business as a negotiator of medical claims, but his real work was in ministry. He spent much of his time volunteering in hospitals, nursing homes, and with the Kairos prison ministry program, sharing his faith and helping others find theirs. In the last days of his life, he was planning a retreat and had inquired about being a hospice volunteer.
