Obituaries

In Remembrance: Ernest J. “Jack” Gilman ’37 Died on March 26 2013

Ernest J. ("Jack") Gilman, Yale Class of 1937, died in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on March 26, 2013. He was 96. The 71st anniversary of his marriage to Mary Walsh would have been April 14. Jack played varsity basketball in the mid-1930s when the Payne Whitney Gym was in its first decade of use. He was a close friend of Larry Kelly and Clint Frank and remained throughout life an ardent follower of the Eli teams. During World War II he served as a major in active combat in France, Germany, and Austria as an assistant G-3 in the 103rd Infantry, in charge of movement orders for the division's generals. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel upon his discharge from active duty in 1946. He worked as VP of manufacturing for the Allied Paper Corporation of Kalamazoo until he was 62, then ran successfully for a seat on the City Commission and became the first family member to serve in elected office. After one term he left to become executive director of the SLD (Dyslexia) Center of Kalamazoo where he worked for another 25 years. He retired for good at age 89. He leaves three children: John of Atlanta, Jane of Indianapolis, and Richard of Kalamazoo.

Submitted by the family

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