Richard Hovey Gillespie

Richard Hovey Gillespie, age 77, died at 4:50 pm on Monday, October 5, 2009, at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Richard was born on August 3, 1932, in Lafayette, IN. He was the son of the former Judge Walter B. Gillespie and Helen Hovey Gillespie. He attended Wabash College and Indiana University and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in History from Purdue University. When Richard was 21, he served for two years in the Army. He then moved to Chicago, IL, where he was a news reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau. At that time he became acquainted with Mike Royko, the eminent political columnist. While in Chicago, he also worked as an assistant curator of the reptile house at the Brookfield Zoo. In 1965 he joined the State Department, where he served for three years as a director of refugee operations in Vietnam. He then moved back to Williamsport, where he farmed the “Barrens” for 38 years, retiring in 2006 because of ill health. Richard was an adventurer, and in 1955, he, together with Jack Jacks, also of Williamsport, and 2 other friends, were the first men to succeed in traveling by vehicle through the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to the Inca ruins. He was one of the founders of Cicott Park and was proud to be the great-great-grandson of former Indiana governor, Alvin P. Hovey. Richard was a member of the Attica-Williamsport Evangelical Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder. Surviving are, 2 sisters, Ann Gillespie Harrison (husband: Joseph) of Attica, IN and Martha Gillespie Weisheit (husband: Bowen) of Baltimore, MD; and ten nieces and nephews. Richard was preceded in death by his parents. Visitation will be at Grady Funeral Home in Williamsport from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Friday, October 9, 2009. Services will on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 11:00 am at the Attica Williamsport Evangelical Presbyterian Church with Pastor Daniel Bloesch officiating. Interment will be at Highland Cemetery with full military honors. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Williamsport-Washington Township Public Library, or Attica Williamsport Evangelical Presbyterian Church.