The Jenkintown Educational Foundation's Friends of the Pond Alumni Committee would like to thank the Gillespie family for their generous gift to fund the upcoming Jenkintown 150 video honoring Kevin Gillespie.
From the press release:
The children of Norma Gillespie, a local piano teacher and supporter of the Jenkintown Music Theater, and Michael Gillespie Sr., who played with the Wyncote Players, all four Gillespie brothers grew up in the borough and attended Jenkintown schools. I was attending. Kevin took advantage of Jenkintown's unique opportunities, serving as president of the Jenkintown High School class of 1984, playing on the football team, acting in musicals, and playing trumpet in the band. Kevin's classmates respected him very much.
Billy Doheny, captain of the JHS varsity football team, recalls. “Kevin came from a soccer background and joined the football team as a kicker late in 10th grade. He didn't know much about soccer. But Kev was determined to contribute more and studied the game and joined the upperclassmen. By then he was one of the bravest players on our defense. I really admired Kevin and his fierce competitive spirit.”
And Mike Fudd, another classmate who was one of Kevin's closest friends, reflected on his old friend: He was the most polite person I have ever met. ”
After high school, Kevin attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and lived briefly in Colorado before settling in Amherst, New Hampshire. True to his Jenkintown roots, Kevin remained passionate about both art and physical activity throughout his life. He sang, played guitar, skied, and competed in triathlons. An advertising expert primarily focused on natural foods, Kevin brings the commitment to community and family he grew up with in Jenkintown to Amherst. He was an active, well-known and beloved member of the local community and is survived by his loving wife, Stacey Gillespie, and two daughters, Maddie Gillespie and Evie Gillespie.
The Jenkintown School District would like to thank the entire Gillespie family for this generous gift and is proud to honor the memory of a graduate who truly distilled what makes Jenkintown special.
For more information about the Jenkintown Education Foundation, please visit its website. If you are an alumnus or would like to honor an alumnus by supporting the school, please feel free to contact Friends of the Pond President and girlfriend Fran O'Neill (JHS '00) at info@jsdef.org Please contact.
Pictured above, left to right: Kevin, Maddie, Stacey, and Evie Gillespie.
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