Dec. 13, 1939 - Jan. 5, 2006
HANCOCK -- Thomas Lee Gillespie, 66, of Hancock died Thursday at SCMC Courage Cottage in Morris.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church in Hancock. Burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery in Hancock, with military rites by Morris American Legion, V.F.W., and Am Vets.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the church, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., and for one hour prior to the service on Monday. Arrangements are with Pedersen Funeral Home of Morris.
He was born Dec. 13, 1939, in Sutherland, Iowa, to Merle and Lena (Thiessen) Gillespie. He attended kindergarten to 10th grade at Sutherland schools. The family moved to Morris in 1956, and he graduated from high school in 1958. He joined the Iowa National Guard in 1957 and was discharged in 1965.
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He married Betty Lou Anderson on March 4, 1959. He joined the Minnesota National Guard in 1973 and retired in 1987 with the rank of Sergeant First Class. He worked for retail feed and seed companies until 1971. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Morris in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He worked as a building official, assessor and zoning administrator for the City of Morris from 1975 to 1999.
He was a president of Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church Board and a past president of the Chapter of International Conference of Building Officials.
He is survived by his wife; children: Craig (and Gwen) Gillespie of Morris, Julie (and Sam) Jepma of Sauk Rapids, Shari (and Alan) Braaten of Glenwood, Carrie (and Rick) Hennen of Morris; and 10 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two sisters.
