David Lind Gillette

1937 - 2022

David Lind Gillette

1937 ~ 2022

David Lind Gillette passed away peacefully on August 15, 2022, at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. David was born October 12, 1937 in Pasadena, California. He was a beloved son of Sam and Zelpha (Jones) Gillette. While still a young boy, his family moved to Tooele, Utah and later to Salt Lake City.

David attended East High School and the University of Utah. While at the U he was involved in many student activities including joining the Beta Theta Pi fraternity where he made lifelong friends. He joined the ROTC and continued to serve his country as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Utah Air National Guard. He was elected Jr. Class President. Through his work in student government he was involved in inviting Martin Luther King Jr. to speak. David picked him up from the airport and drove him to the Union Building, an experience he remembered fondly throughout his life.

Music became an important part of his college life. He played the guitar and sang with a musical quartet called the Villagers. He played the trombone and banjo, and loved performing and singing in many quartets and choirs throughout his life.

After obtaining his bachelor's degree, David continued his education at the University of Utah School of Law. On March 16, 1962, David was married and sealed to his lifelong companion Doris Anita Price in the Salt Lake Temple. The next year during his law school graduation ceremony, Doris went into labor with the first of their five children.

Following graduation, he began his law practice in Pasadena, California. He then moved back to Utah where he continued a successful law career at Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall and McCarthy. At age 54 David retired to serve a mission after which he began a second career in real estate development. David had a gift for entrepreneurship and was involved in building numerous businesses.

David lived a life of service and gave generously throughout his life to those in need. As a young man, he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Hawaiian Islands, where he had the unique experience of serving in one of the last remaining leper colonies. He loved the Hawaiian people, food and culture, and learned to play the ukulele with great gusto. Later, he served as a Bishop for a student ward, where he made many friends. After retiring from his law practice, David and Doris served as Mission Leaders for the Massachusetts, Boston Mission, and later for the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission. He also served with Doris as a counselor to the Mission President for the Provo MTC. They spent a summer in Lima, Peru where they served in the temple in the mornings and taught English in the evenings. They also spent a school year where Doris taught English and David taught Economics and Law at the Foreign Affairs University in Beijing China. He was active in many civic organizations including the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, and was the President of the Salt Lake Chapter of the Rotary Club, and President of the United Way of Utah.

David led an active lifestyle which took him from heli-skiing in the peaks of the Canadian Bugaboos to scuba diving in the depths of the Caribbean and the Great Barrier Reef. He loved tennis and golf, stayed fit running, skiing and waterskiing, and enjoyed sharing these activities with his children and grandchildren. He and Doris loved to travel, and they traveled throughout the world.

David loved his relationship as a father with each of his 5 children. He taught them to enjoy all of the activities he loved which they experienced together throughout their lives. He always gave great advice, which often was quite funny. He found much joy as a grandfather to 22 grandchildren and great-grandfather to 13 great-grandchildren, and loved spending time with each of them. David made a challenge and offered to pay reward money to anyone in the family who could beat him at any sport. He only had to pay on rare occasions.

David is survived by: his wife, Doris Price Gillette; children Steven (Jennefer) Gillette, Heather (Kent) Hansen, Michelle (Todd) Woods and Derek (Jennifer) Gillette; and his sister Kathy (Mike) Place. He was preceded in death by: his parents, Samuel Lindberg Gillette and Zelpha Ursula Jones Gillette; his daughter Jennifer (Todd) Cusick; and his siblings Larry (Mary) Gillette and JoAnne (Mac) Bay.

A viewing will be held Sunday, August 21 at Larkin Sunset Lawn (2350 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah) from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Funeral services will be held Monday, August 22, 2022 at the Monument Park Stake Center, (1320 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah). Viewing will be held from 10:00 - 11:30 am, funeral starting at 12:00 pm and graveside services to follow.

For those unable to attend, services will be streamed via Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85701286415. A free Zoom account is required to view the service.