The Rev. Dr. Jean Lois Witman Gilpatrick

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.