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Former Teacher, Coach Robert F. Gillespie, Jr., Dies
Longtime former Woodberry science teacher and football and lacrosse coach Robert Felix Gillespie, Jr., of Orange, Va., passed away Wednesday, April 22, 2009.
He was born September 23, 1932, in Richlands, Va., son of the late Dr. Robert Felix and Mary Jesse Gillespie of Lebanon, Va.
He graduated from Lebanon High School in 1951, and earned his BS from Sewanee, The University of the South, in 1955, and his MA from The University of Virginia in 1957. Upon graduating, he took up a lifelong career in teaching and coaching: first at Virginia Episcopal School, then Christchurch School, followed by twenty-eight years at Woodberry Forest School, until his retirement in 1991.
During his career, he could be found as often on the football field or lacrosse field as in the biology lab. He held the William and Harry Frazier Memorial Chair to encourage the excellence of teaching in science at Woodberry. He received the George R. O'Connor Award for teaching in 1987 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1991. In 1999 he was inducted into the US Lacrosse Virginia Hall of Fame.
Bob served as senior warden, junior warden, and head usher at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, where he spent his Sunday mornings greeting the members and guests. He enjoyed gardening, making hot sauce, fishing, and tinkering with anything he could take apart.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine Matthews Gillespie, of Orange; son, John Kavanaugh Gillespie '85, and his wife Monica McTeague Gillespie, of Lutherville, Md.; daughter, Grayson Gillespie Butterfield '88, and her husband, Jeremy Thomas Butterfield, of Charlottesville; and son, William Scott Gillespie '91, and his wife, Tarpley Vest Gillespie, of Charlottesville.
Also surviving are his grandchildren, Catherine Daisy Gillespie, James Kavanaugh Gillespie, Anna McTeague Gillespie, Robert Fletcher Gillespie, Samuel Vest Gillespie, Charles William Gillespie, and Eleanor Evelyn Butterfield.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Dogwood Village of Orange and Hospice of the Rapidan for their exceptional care and love. A memorial service will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Orange, 1 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2009. A reception will follow in the Baker Gallery of the Walker Fine Arts Center at Woodberry Forest School.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to St. Thomas’s Community Preschool, 119 Caroline Street, Orange, Virginia 22960.
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He was born September 23, 1932, in Richlands, Va., son of the late Dr. Robert Felix and Mary Jesse Gillespie of Lebanon, Va.
He graduated from Lebanon High School in 1951, and earned his BS from Sewanee, The University of the South, in 1955, and his MA from The University of Virginia in 1957. Upon graduating, he took up a lifelong career in teaching and coaching: first at Virginia Episcopal School, then Christchurch School, followed by twenty-eight years at Woodberry Forest School, until his retirement in 1991.
During his career, he could be found as often on the football field or lacrosse field as in the biology lab. He held the William and Harry Frazier Memorial Chair to encourage the excellence of teaching in science at Woodberry. He received the George R. O'Connor Award for teaching in 1987 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1991. In 1999 he was inducted into the US Lacrosse Virginia Hall of Fame.
Bob served as senior warden, junior warden, and head usher at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, where he spent his Sunday mornings greeting the members and guests. He enjoyed gardening, making hot sauce, fishing, and tinkering with anything he could take apart.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine Matthews Gillespie, of Orange; son, John Kavanaugh Gillespie '85, and his wife Monica McTeague Gillespie, of Lutherville, Md.; daughter, Grayson Gillespie Butterfield '88, and her husband, Jeremy Thomas Butterfield, of Charlottesville; and son, William Scott Gillespie '91, and his wife, Tarpley Vest Gillespie, of Charlottesville.
Also surviving are his grandchildren, Catherine Daisy Gillespie, James Kavanaugh Gillespie, Anna McTeague Gillespie, Robert Fletcher Gillespie, Samuel Vest Gillespie, Charles William Gillespie, and Eleanor Evelyn Butterfield.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Dogwood Village of Orange and Hospice of the Rapidan for their exceptional care and love. A memorial service will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Orange, 1 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2009. A reception will follow in the Baker Gallery of the Walker Fine Arts Center at Woodberry Forest School.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to St. Thomas’s Community Preschool, 119 Caroline Street, Orange, Virginia 22960.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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