Stuart Packard Gillespie Sr., of Brunswick, March 16 after a caring, full and well spent life, died in Brunswick.
He was born on May 6, 1913 in Morristown, N.J., the third of five children of Margaret Whitney and Samuel Hazard Gillespie.
Stuart, a Navy Dispatch Officer, was stationed at Floyd Bennet Field, during WWII. He went on to work for Northeast Utilities, retiring after 40 years of service. Stuart and Helen brought their children up in Canton Center, Conn. and then retired to their dream home on the coast of Maine.
Stuart was an avid sailor, passionate woodworker, skier, fly fisherman, volunteer, world & U.S. traveler, and devout Christian. He was the oldest living member (#13) and a founder of the National Ski Patrol, (1938, Stowe, Vt.). In Connecticut he volunteered with Civil Defense, chaired school committees and was a delegate to the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, Congregational. In Maine he was on the Board of Trustees of the Bangor Seminary, and Treasurer (20 years) on the Board of Directors of the Carpenter’s Boat Shop in Pemaquid.
Stuart was a mentor, inspiration and impeccable role model to many along the Eastern seaboard, and especially to his children and grandchildren. He will be remembered for his unending recollection of friends, colleagues and stories.
He was predeceased by siblings Margaret, Hazard, and Paul and survived by The Rev. David Gillespie. He was married for 63 loving years to Helen Macpherson Gillespie until her death in 2010 and is survived by their children Stuart Jr. of Bath, Duncan of Charlestown, Mass., and Margot Iwanchuk of Windsor, Col.; grandchildren, Peter Gillespie of Charlotte, N.C., Stefan Iwanchuk of Phoenix, Ariz., Alex and Catherine Iwanchuk of Denver, Col.; and four great-grandchildren.
A service and celebration of Stuart’s life will be at 2 p.m., Sat., March 25 at the 2nd Congregational Church in Newcastle.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Stuart’s memory to the Carpenter’s Boat Shop, 440 Old County Rd, Pemaquid, ME 04558.