JAMES GILLESPIE

JAMES P. GILLESPIE  
Died in his sleep on August 19, 2017. Born 1931 in Beijing, China to Baptist missionaries Arthur and Pauline Gillespie, James and his three brothers spent their childhood moving between China and the southern U.S. He earned a BS from Wake Forest University (1953), and a MS from the University of Tennessee in botany (1955) and a PhD in education from Vanderbilt University (1970). He worked for the MD Department of Education and Carroll County Public Schools in the decades that followed and taught biology at Essex Community College, Stevenson University, and Frederick Community College. He was an avid Amateur Radio operator (K3DQ) and used Morse code to talk every night with his identical twin brother, Arthur in N.C. He wrote a memoir: Around the World and Headed South, Growing Up a Twin and a Missionary Kid (amazon.com). James is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marilyn, their three children (Laine, Craig and Alison), two grandchildren, and his brothers, Paul and David. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on August 26, 2017 at Bedford Court Sr. Living Community (sunriseseniorliving.com) in Silver Spring, MD. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Montgomery Hospice (montgomeryhospice.org). www.collinsfuneralhome.com