John Lodge Gillespie ’54

John Lodge Gillespie ’54 passed away on March 19, 2014, in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. John came to Dartmouth from Providence, Rhode Island. He was a graduate of the Choate School. At Dartmouth he was a brother of Delta Kappa Epsilon. He was a government major. John was elected freshman year as the first class secretary for ’54s. He was a member of the Dartmouth Outing Club, Jack-O-Lantern, The Dartmouth, Undergraduate Council and the Vigilantes. After graduation John was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, serving for five years mainly in Germany. After discharge from the service he attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Management, graduating in 1962 with a B.S. in hotel management. In 1964 he joined Needham and Grohman, an advertising firm specializing in resort, hotel and travel accounts, working in New York City. In 1987 John moved to Hanover, serving as director of the Dartmouth College Parents Fund. He retired in 2000, moving to Boothbay Harbor. He served as a trustee on the board of the Aloha Foundation and as an overseer of the Hanover Inn. John was a recipient of the Class of ’54 Award and the Dartmouth Alumni Award. In retirement he continued his lifelong love of trains by becoming an Amtrak ambassador, riding the Downeaster between Portland, Maine, and Boston. John served the class in many different capacities, including 15 years as mini-reunion chair. He is survived by his wife, Sandy, daughter Laura ’89 and son John.