Category: Obituary: G

Claudine Marilyn Renz Grady, 89, wife of the Rev. Charles W. Grady, died March 15, 2013. She lost her vision at an early age. As a child she became an expert knitter, fluent in Braille, and a gifted pianist. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. When she married Charles he was a radio announcer. As a young wife, she reared two children, took care of the house, and participated in civic and musical affairs. It was Claudine’s influence that brought the Gradys to Unitarianism. She loved making friends, and was a dedicated bridge player, aided by Braille-marked cards and a phenomenal memory. For Claudine “life began at 40,” when she learned to work with a guide dog for greater independence. It was a successful venture, and she owned and loved a series of dogs for the rest of her life. In 2010, increasing ill health forced them to move to Minnesota to live with family. Claudine was afflicted by dementia and declining health. The Gradys were together for more than 65 years. Notes of remembrance may be sent to Charles W. Grady, 8714 Second Ave. South, Bloomington, MN 55420.

The Rev. Clifton B. Gordon, 91, died September 22, 2004 from the aftereffects of a stroke. He served churches in Sterling, MA; Wilton Center and Milford, NH; and Modesto, Yuba City and Bakersfield, CA (emeritus). He was a high school teacher and guidance counselor in Milford, NH, and taught Psychology at Sacramento State College. He served in the Army Medical Department and the Transportation Corps during World War II, in New Guinea, Philippines, and Japan. Survivors include his wife, Helen Gordon, and three stepchildren, Bruce Winn, Brent Winn, and Holly Winn Wilner.

Madlyn Hunsberger Gold, 87, widow of the Rev. William J. Gold, died June 28 2005. She was Program Director of Carver Community Center in Schenectady, Director of the Schenectady County Volunteers and Director of the Senior Citizen Center in Richmond. She is survived by sons L. Gold of Montgomery Village, MD and James P. Gold of Saratoga Springs, NY.

The Rev. Jo-an Glasse, 87, left our Earth August 3, 2011. She graduated from Berea College and Yale Divinity School. At Yale she met and married the Rev. James D. Glasse, who predeceased her. They settled in Nashville where Jim taught at Vanderbilt University and Jo-an reared four children. Jim was appointed president of the Lancaster (PA) Theological Seminary. In addition to supporting the local community with teaching, healing and spiritual development groups, Jo-an served the national community as a chairperson for Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. She was ordained by the Lancaster congregation at age 59. She touched many lives performing christenings, weddings and funerals. With her business partner, Sheila Audet, Jo-an produced an original musical of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, which traveled all over the country. Her boundless energy and twinkling blue-green eyes belied her age. Her generous, open heart and deep compassion defined her. All who knew her, even briefly, were touched by her loving presence. She is survived by her sister Alice Wulff, her children J. Daniel, Janet, Judith and Julia, their spouses and four grandchildren.

Thomas Vance Gilpatrick, 81, husband of the Rev. Jean W. Gilpatrick, died in Rockville, MD Jan. 18, 2005. After serving in World War II, he received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He taught at Pennsylvania State College then at Sweet Briar College for more than 30 years. He was an active member of the First Unitarian Church of Lynchburg, VA, the Jefferson Choral Society, the ACLU, and the Lynchburg Council on Human Relations. He was a founder of Lynchburg’s emergency fuel project. He is survived by Jean, his wife of 55 years, of Potomac, MD; two daughters, Diana Gilpatrick of Potomac and Morgan Gilpatrick, of Bowie, MD; three grandchildren; three brothers and a sister. Services were held March 26 in Bethesda, MD and April 9 in Lynchburg.

The Rev. Dr. Jean Lois Witman Gilpatrick, 84, died June 4, 2009, after a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was born in East Orange, NJ. She was educated at Connecticut Valley College for Women and Meadville Lombard. She won a Danforth Graduate Fellowship to do interdenominational work at University of Illinois. There she met and married Thomas Vance Gilpatrick. They worked as a team on programs empowering people to improve their lives. In the 1960’s the Gilpatricks worked tirelessly for civil rights in Lynchburg, VA. Black leaders said their efforts were the first tangible sign of support from area whites for local struggles for justice. Jean taught at Virginia Theological Seminary and College, an historically black college, and at Central Virginia Community College. After her ordination in 1981, she served congregations in CT, IL and VA. She advocated for women’s rights and attended the International Women’s Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. She was a poet and a painter, who enjoyed singing in the choir. Jean is survived by two daughters, Morgan Gilpatrick and Diana Gilpatrick, three grandchildren, a brother and many nieces and nephews.

The Rev. David Gilmartin, 71, died unexpectedly March 12, 2012 in Eugene, OR. He earned his BA at Harvard University and his MDiv. at Starr King. He was a community minister and a social worker, who advocated for accessibility. He worked at the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, CA; at the Center for Independence of the Disabled in Belmont, CA; at Resources for Independent Living in Sacramento, CA. He worked at Ferry Beach UU Camp and Conference Center in Saco, ME; at New Horizons Independent Living Center in Prescott, AZ; at InfoUse in Berkeley, CA; and at the State of Arizona Child Protective Services. His colleague, Alicia Forsey, remembers him as a very positive person. She described him as kind, gentle and intelligent. She added that he had a memory “like a steel trap.” David enjoyed singing and playing the guitar. He was predeceased by his sister, Alice Gilmartin. He is survived by his brother Peter Gilmartin.

The Rev. Fred Gillis, parish minister, skilled liturgist, community activist, accomplished woodworker, and lover of the ourdoors, railways, organs and organ music, died, aged 72, on July 14, 2013 after a long battle with Lewy body disease.

Fred’s woodworking skill and passion for organ music were combined in designing and building his own organ as well as proudly helping with the design and construction of the organ at the Westminster Church in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where he was settled for a twenty-six-year pastorate. When not pursuing his love of rail travel and building model trains, he could often be found hiking, kayaking and bird watching on camping trips with his family in Newark Pond, Vermont.

In his professional life, the Rev. Mr. Gillis was a 42-year member of the Greenfield Group and was formally granted “sainthood” in that oldest Unitarian (now UU) ministerial study group in North America. Widely respected for his interest in worship arts, he was a founding and active member of the Unitarian Universalist liturgical group, the Congregation of Abraxas and served for four years (1978-82) on the UUA’s Commission on Common Worship. His work in this area is recalled in these words (one of his two contributions to the UUA hymnal):

May the Love which overcomes all differences,
which heals all wounds,
which puts to flight all fears,
which reconciles all who are separated,
be in us and among us
now and always.
(Reading #694, Singing the Living Tradition)

Frederick Ellsworth Gillis was born in Cambridge, Mass, on December 12, 1940 to Raymond and Amy Mann Gillis. He was graduated with a B.S. from Tufts University in 1962 and an S.T.B from Harvard Divinity School in 1965.

Mr. Gillis was ordained to the ministry at the Channing Unitarian Church in Rockland, Mass., on April 24, 1966, where he served from 1965 to 1969. He went on to parish settlements at the UU Church of Halifax, Nova Scotia (1969-77) and the Westminster Unitarian Church of East Greenwich, Rhode Island (1977-2003), leaving the latter with the title of Minister Emeritus. He then moved on to interim ministries at UU churches in Rutland, Vermont (2003-04) and Peterborough, New Hampshire (2005-06), before final retirement.

During more than four decades in parish ministry, the Rev. Mr. Gillis was steadily active in many local community groups and the larger UU movement, serving as chair (1966-67) and board member (1971-73) of the Fair Housing and Human Rights Association in Rockland, Mass., Vice President (1972-73) of the Metro Area Family Planning Association in Halifax, Nova Scotia, , board member (1974-77) of the Canadian Unitarian Council, Vice President (1979) and President (1980-83) of the Memorial Society of Rhode Island. Later, he was elected Treasurer (1968), Vice President (1986-88), and President (1988-89) of the Ballou Channing Chapter of the UUMA and served on the Executive Board of the UUMA at large from 1989 to 1991.

Fred is survived by his wife, Judy Stewart Gillis of Concord, New Hampshire, and his former wife, Kate Gillis of West Warwick: Rhode Island, two sons: Andrew (spouse Karen), of Bedford, New Hampshire, and Duncan (spouse Vanessa) of Portland, Oregon; three step-daughters: Tracy Terry (spouse Marc) of Ashland, Mass., Gillian Edeus (spouse Leif) of Vevey, Switzerland, and Erin Stewart (spouse Jeff Fetter) of Concord, New Hampshire, and 10 grandchildren.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, September 14, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. at the Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. An additional remembrance were included as part of Sunday morning worship on September 29, 10:30 am at the UU Church of Concord, New Hampshire.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UUA Living Tradition Fund, P.O. Box 843154, Boston, Mass., 02284 or to Lewy Body Research, MGH Development Office, Attn: Shawn Fitzgibbons, 165 Cambridge St., Suite 600, Boston, Mass.

Notes of condolence may be sent to Judy Gillis at 6 Wildemere Terrace, Concord, New Hampshire 03301.

Yvonne Giles, 81, wife of Rev. Philip R. Giles of Harwich, MA, died Dec. 10, 2005. Among other churches, they had been together at Muncie, IN; and Denver, CO. While in Muncie, Yvonne was head of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) leading 1800 volunteers. Survivors include her husband; a son, Rev. Stephen Rhoades of Sandyville, WV; and a daughter, Dauna Hawkins of Weston, WV.

The Rev. Dr. Philip R. Giles, whose career spanned fifty-four years of distinguished service in parish ministry, denominational leadership, and armed forces chaplaincy, died on July 2, 2013, at the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Quincy, Illinois, aged 96.

Mr. Giles was especially energetic and influential in organizational work as the last General Superintendent of the Universalist Church of America (UCA) prior to its consolidation with the American Unitarian Association (AUA) in 1961. He later recalled that the Universalists were “wary of power and institutions,” and he set about to strengthen the UCA “so it could carry more of its weight in the merger.” Under his revitalizing program, Operation Bootstrap, some of the influence of independent state Universalist conventions was shifted to the national office, internal communication was improved, the UCA’s financial base was strengthened, ministerial pensions were increased, several congregations moved to new or renovated buildings, and publication was expanded. He saw these changes as essential for the future, whether for a self-sustaining UCA or in preparation for consolidation with the AUA. In the words of a family member,

“His commitment to the liberal religious movement mirrored his philosophy that each generation is responsible to help succeeding generations move forward. He always said, “Your generation doesn’t owe anything to mine. We hold you on our shoulders and you will do the same for your children.”

Philip Randall Giles was born in Haverhill, Mass. on January 23, 1917 to Nelson R. and Ina Butler Giles. He earned a B.A. from Tufts College and an S.T.B. from Crane Theological School, both in 1942, and later received honorary doctorates from Tufts and St. Lawrence University.

In 1939, during his student years at Tufts, Mr. Giles began parish ministry at the Universalist Church in Southbridge, Mass, where he was ordained by the Massachusetts Universalist Convention on May 10, 1942. Meanwhile, in June of 1941, he was married to Aurelie Proctor of Fayville, Mass. After ordination he entered the Army Air Corps as a chaplain, spending two years in New Guinea and several months in Tokyo during the occupation. Thereafter he joined the Air Force Reserves and was recalled to another stint (1951-53) of active military service as a wing chaplain at Connelly AFB in Waco, Texas, during the Korean conflict. His reserve chaplaincy status afforded him an instrumental role in the design of the spectacularly modernist Air Force Academy Chapel, completed in 1962 in Colorado Springs. He retired with the rank of colonel in 1977.

Returning to parish ministry after WWII, the Rev. Mr. Giles was settled at the White Memorial Universalist Church in Concord, New Hampshire from 1946 until 1949, when he joined the Universalist headquarters staff. There he served successively as director of fund-raising (Unified Appeal, 1949-51), assistant to the General Superintendent of the UCA (1953-1954), and then director of ministry and extension, before his own election as General Superintendent in 1957.

In 1961, having helped steer the final stages of UCA-AUA consolidation, Philip Giles served as UUA Vice President for Field Relations until 1963, then District Executive of the Joseph Priestly District, and returned to UUA headquarters as Vice President for Development (1970-74).

Resuming parish ministry, Dr. Giles was settled at the UU Church of Muncie, Indiana (1974-78), the First Universalist Church of Denver, Colorado (1978-82, where he was named Minister Emeritus in 1988), and the UU Church of Corpus Christi (1982-1983). He then embarked on a career in interim ministry, serving churches in Providence, Rhode Island (1983-84), Croydon, England (1984-85), Needham, Mass (1985-86), Melrose, Mass (1986), Middleboro, Mass (1987-88), Corpus Christi, Texas (winters of 1988-90), and Barnstable, Mass (1992-93).

Philip Giles came from a family of outdoor enthusiasts. He enjoyed camping, birding, fishing, and swimming. He and his family spent summers at various Universalist and Unitarian camps, institutes, and retreat centers around the country. He led workshops at Ferry Beach and Star Island in Maine, Camp Unirondack in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Bridgman on Lake Michigan, and the Rocky Mountain District summer institute at Estes Park, Colorado.

In a letter of sympathy to an old friend, Mr. Giles once wrote:
“I have never been able to bid adieu, even for a time, gracefully and easily. It has always been easier to take refuge in a casual “See you later.” But that won’t do now . . . I have often wished I could take comfort in the Christian myth of immortality. But my mind won’t permit it. My comfort has to be with those we leave behind—immortality enough for me—but it does not assuage the hurt, the grief, the loss when dear ones go on ahead. It’s a lonely business, made tolerable only by the evergreen memories and pride of having been the recipient of their trust and love and friendship.”

Philip Giles was preceded in death by his wife, Aurelie, and a brother, Paul, of Concord, New Hampshire. He is survived by two daughters, Lee Giles Hirstein of Schaumburg, Illinois, and Susan Giles Godsey of Nehalem, Oregon, two grandchildren, a great-grandchild, nieces and nephews, and a sister-in-law.

Cremation rites were conducted for Dr. Giles. A memorial service was planned for a later date in St. Albans, Maine, site of the family cemetery since the 1760s.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Society for Ministerial Relief, c/o Glen Snowden, Secretary, 34 Meeting House Ln #201, Stow, Mass 01775.

Notes of condolence may be sent to Lee Giles Hirstein at 2442 Charleston Drive, #6, Schaumburg, Illinois 60193; or Susan Giles Godsey at P.O. Box 128, Nehalem, Oregon 97131.