The Gillmore family offers our loving memories of James Donovan Gillmore, who passed

on October 23rd from natural causes. Jim was a joyful and loving man who brought

discipline and guidance to his family and friends, encouraging them in the upli ing ways

of the Lord. Born November 26, 1932 in Rugby, North Dakota. Jim was 87 years old.

Jim’s mother, Nora Grunsvold, spoke uent Norwegian, and his father, Cal Gillmore,

spoke Swedish, being second generation immigrants. e population of Rugby in 1932

was closer to a few hundred than it was to a few thousand at the nadir of the Great

Depression. Jim’s mother and father were members of the Barton Lutheran Church, which

in uenced Jim’s view of the world, as did the calm, rolling plains of wheat surrounding

him for hundreds of miles.

In 1945 Jim’s family settled in Missoula Montana, where his parents operated the

Gillmore Motel, while Jim and his brothers Duane and Ron attended the Missoula County

High School and Montana State University. Living close to the land, Jim preferred forest

campsites over creature comforts while hiking, shing, and hunting.

One day, in the early 1950s, during a break from his air-tra c control duties at the Naval

Air Station in Alameda, California, Jim wandered upon a bright and lovely young woman

classmate named Paula McCrite, who enjoyed the mid a ernoon sun while sitting on the

library steps. ey introduced themselves and spoke warmly to each other, as she looked

up from the Bible she was reading. A er many joyful months of dating, the couple chose

January 19th, 1955 as their wedding date and remained together until Paula’s passing on

January 20, 2010.

Paula tamed the wildness of Jim’s youth, quickly igniting his interest in the arts and

culture where they shared their love for each other attending the Seattle Symphony and

Seattle Repertory eatre, and the occasional visit to Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle.

On April 11, 1957, the couple introduced their daughter Karen to their loving world,

followed by their son Tom born October 16, 1958.

Jim’s leaves his children Tom Gillmore, Karen Gillmore Beal, son in law Kevin D Beal,

grandsons Lucas T Beal and Landon R Beal, his wife Erin Beal and great grandchildren

Sloane and Bennett to mourn his passing.

Preferring the economical Volkswagen Beetle for his commute, Jim worked as airtra

c controller at Sea-Tac Airport until his retirement. Jim enjoyed his fellowship with

coworkers who frequently gathered for hunting, skiing and shing trips.

In their retirement, Jim and Paula enjoyed traveling full time in their RV, visiting friends

and family in Missoula, Montana and Neosho, Missouri.

Your thoughts and prayers are welcome as Jim passes to the comfort of our Lord.