John Flagg Gillham

John Flagg Gillham, 76, died after a brief illness Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Lewiston, Idaho. He was born in Flagstaff, Ariz., and grew up in western Oregon and eastern Washington. In the 1950s, he worked in Alaska with his father surveying for the U.S. Geological Survey and helped construct the Distance Early Warning Line. During the Korean Conflict he served aboard the battleship USS Mississippi. After the War, he worked as a draftsman for the U.S. Capitol Architect in Washington, D.C. In the 1960s, John obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon. He was employed as an associate professor at Oregon before he moved his family to San Luis Obispo in 1975. There he joined Cal Poly''s Department of Landscape Architecture. which was in its infancy at the time. For several years, John was department chair and helped make the program one of the best in the country. At Cal Poly, he earned the rank of full professor and taught and mentored students for more than 20 years. John retired to central Oregon and remained active by having operated a cattle ranch and consulted for the U.S. Forest Service. In 2003, he moved to Lapwai, Idaho, where he spent the last years of life managing the same farm his grandparents had started 100 years earlier. John is survived by his six children Patrick, Michael, Molly, Kathleen, Sean and Timothy; three daughter-in-laws; son-in-law; four young grandchildren; and sister, Mary Stageberg. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Michael Gillham Jr.; and sister, Kennedy James. A service celebrating John''s life was held in Lewiston, Idaho. John''s family requests that any memorial contributions be made to the San Luis Obispo County Special Olympics.