Philip M.L. Gore ’63

Mike, an executive and enthusiast of historical museums who lived in Essex Junction, Vt., died Oct. 14, 2010.

Born in Washington, D.C., he graduated from St. Albans School and followed his father, Philip ’31, to Princeton. He majored in religion, belonged to Colonial Club, the Student Christian Association, and Whig-Clio, and chaired the Anglo-American Conference. Mike earned a master’s degree at the University of Grenoble in France and spent five years in the Navy, separating in 1970 as a lieutenant.

For 15 years he was executive director of Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, Va., which includes one of the premier historic mansions of the Valley of Virginia. Isaac Hite Jr., brother-in-law of James Madison 1771, held the 483 acres where the mansion was completed in 1797. Mike also served on the board of directors of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Va.  

After moving to Vermont in 2005, he devoted himself to the Shelburne Museum and Shelburne Farms and to perfecting the gardens at his home. He was a life master of the American Contract Bridge League.

Mike is survived by his partner of 22 years, Dennis George; a nephew, Preston Hill, and his wife, Cyndie; nieces Anne Patrick and Catharine Saunders and her husband, Tom; two great-nieces; two great-nephews; several cousins; and many cherished friends.