Paul Gillie

Paul Gillie was born November 30, 1928, in Spokane, Wash., the second son of Clarence and Zella (O'Neil) Gillie. He attended Vashon High as well as Seattle's Garfield, Franklin and Broadway-Edison schools. As a teen he worked as head doorman and concessions manager at two theaters in Seattle, the Orpheum and the Music Box. He enlisted in the US Army in 1946 and served as a classification specialist at the Seattle Port of Embarkation. After completing his terms of enlistment, he enrolled at Western Washington College of Education in Bellingham where he edited the college newspaper, was elected to positions in student government and was initiated into the college's Honor Society. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor's in Education and a standard general teaching certificate. He worked in Bellingham as a news reporter for KVOS radio and TV stations.Paul's teaching career began in 1952 at Snohomish Junior High School. He completed a Master of Education degree and received an Elementary Principal Credential in 1956; and in 1957 he became principal (and teacher) at Southside Elementary School near Shelton. In 1959 he began teaching English, Speech and Journalism at Shelton High School.Paul was a lifelong active Democrat. In the summer of 1974 he took a leave of absence from teaching and began working full-time as the chairman of his friend Don Bonker's successful congressional campaign. He resigned from teaching at the end of the campaign and acted as consultant for an assortment of individuals and organizations including Common Cause, Washington Commission for the Humanities, Washington Education Association, the Senate Democratic Caucus, and the Commission for Vocational Education. In 1976 he began a 17 year career with the Public Disclosure Commission as research director devoted to the task of making campaign finance data easily accessible to the public and the press. In 1994 Paul was appointed by the Governor to the State Executive Ethics Board where he served until 2000. The Olympia Press Club awarded him the first Paul Gillie Open Government award when he retired in 1999. In May of this year Paul received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Thurston Co. Democratic Party.In the years just before retiring from state work, Paul returned to a lifelong interest in the study and writing of poetry. He began attending poetry workshops, readings and conferences. He joined the Washington Poets Association, was elected to the board of directors, and became membership chairman and newsletter editor. He also served as poetry section chair for the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. Paul was a founding member of the Olympia Poetry Network. He belonged to the Oregon State Poetry Association and the Oregon Writers Colony. In the first years of Paul's retirement he had 40 poems accepted for publication by a variety of literary magazines across the nation. In 1999 the Washington Poets Association recognized Paul and Joyce Gillie for their years of assistance with a lifetime service award.Paul was a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union, The American Academy of Poets, First Christian Church of Olympia, Thurston County Democratic Club, Briggs Community YMCA, Friends of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, National Audubon Society, Nisqually Delta Association, Capital Bicycling Club. Paul was a member of the Washington Federation of State Employees, and had served as president and chief negotiator for the Shelton Education Association. He was a member of the Washington University Alumni Association, the Governor's Civil Defense Advisory Council, and of the Thurston County Stormwater and Groundwater Advisory Council.Paul is survived at the family home near Tumwater by his wife Joyce Ackley Gillie, by three children from a previous marriage to Joyce Munden (Zimmerman): son Jim in Yakima, step grandchildren James, Sarah, Annie and Mary Slade, son Timothy, his wife Jenine and grandchildren Jacob and Airdrie in Tooele, Utah, his daughter Arlene Williams, her husband Robert and grandchildren Travis, Lisa and Brent in Issaquah, by nephew Steve Gillie in Topeka, Kan., nephew David in Fenton, Mo. and niece Janice Lehr in Imperial, Mo., by cousins Bob and Ivan O'Neil in Kalispell, Mont.Memorial donations can be sent to the Washington Poets Association, 721 Schooner Ct, Moses Lake, WA 98837, or the charity of your choice. Visitation will be held Tuesday September 4, 2001 from 9-12, at Olympic Funeral Home Chapel, 5725 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater, WA. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 p.m.