John M. Gill
Nov. 13, 1921-May 6, 2006
Palo Alto, California
John M. Gill, 84, died May 6, 2006, in Palo Alto of a brain tumor. Born in Seattle, Wash., on Nov. 13, 1921, to John and Irene Gill, he entered St. Edward's Seminary in the Seattle area at 14, where his love of learning was nurtured. He went from that sheltered world into the U.S. Infantry in Oct. 1942.
The army sent him to Kauai where he learned to love the Hawaiian weather and libraries, then into combat in New Guinea and the Philippines. His unit, which would have been among the first to land in Japan if not for the surrender, made a combat landing on a Japanese beach, only to be greeted by excited children rather than armed defense. He earned several military honors but was proudest of his combat infantryman's badge.
He earned an associate degree from the seminary, and bachelor's and master's degrees in literature from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. from New York University.
He taught at Portland State College, the College of New Rochelle, NYU, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Stanislaus State College, Honolulu Community College, The University of Hawaii, Stanford University, and, beginning in 1969, the College of San Mateo, where he served until 1976 as chair of the English Department. He officially retired in 1987 but continued to teach until 1992. He served as president of the Association of Departments of English in 1975, was a member of the Modern Language Association's Delegate Assembly from 1976 to 1978, and served from 1982 to 1987 as past president -- without having been president -- of the English Council of the California Two-Year Colleges.
In retirement he pursued scholarly research, specializing in E.E. Cummings, Thomas Wolfe, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He presented papers at conferences in the United States and France as well as publishing in scholarly journals.
He and his wife, Susan, traveled frequently to England and France in the last 20 years, often alternating European trips with stays in his beloved Hawaii.
He was also an active member of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library, pricing poetry books for the Friends' monthly sale and making many friends among the volunteers. He also maintained a lively correspondence with friends scattered around the country. Loved ones recall that despite the brain tumor, he remained the educator, scholar and bibliophile his family and friends knew and loved; his intelligence, joy in life, and concern for others did not falter.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Petit of Palo Alto; his sons, Mark Gill and John Gill of Seattle, Wash.; his sister, Maxine of Seattle, Wash.; two grandchildren and 15 nieces and nephews and their spouses and children, all of whom he remembered on their birthdays with cards and checks.
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