James Madison Gillespie ’69

JAMES MADISON GILLESPIE died suddenly, of a heart attack, on Apr. 1, 1993, in the local library of his hometown, Riverside, Ill. He was 45 years old.

Jim came to Princeton from RiversideBrookfield H.S., where he had been president of the student council and active on the school newspaper and in the Russian club, as well. At Princeton, Jim majored in history, participated in WhigClio and the Young Republicans, and was a member of Cloister Inn. He made an indelible impression on all those who met him with his remarkable erudition, his forceful personality, his eloquent command of the language, and his generous spirit. He was also memorable as the inspirational coach of the Cloister Inn hockey team.

After graduation, Jim moved on to Columbia Law School and, after obtaining his law degree, returned to his hometown and the house in which he had grown up. He lived there the rest of his life.

In Riverside, Jim practiced law for a variety of corporate and government entities, and occasionally for his friends. Indeed, in some respects his greatest accomplishments may have been his friendships. Jim maintained a remarkable network of friends from every phase of his life, from grade school on. He kept actively in touch with them, sharing his knowledge and his passionsfor everything from opera to baseball, from German wine to the Chicago Bears. He was a largerthanlife figure and an unforgettable man.

Jim is survived by his many friends from all over the country, some of whom paid tribute to him at a memorial service in Riverside on Apr. 7, 1993, and all of whom feel his loss greatly.

The Class of 1969