Howard F. Gillette, 91, Summered at West Chop

Howard F. Gillette, 91, of Hamden, Conn. and former alumni secretary at Harvard University died Nov. 8.

Mr. Gillette was born Jan. 21, 1913 in Chicago, Ill., the son of Howard F. Gillette of Chicago, and Cornelia Brookmire Gillette of St. Louis, Mo. As a child and young adult he spent his summers at Biddeford Pool, Me. He attended the Chicago Latin School, St. Mark's School in Southborough and was a graduate of the Harvard class of 1935. In 1940 he married Mary Hale of Winnetka, Ill. During the war, he served as a lieutenant in Washington, D.C. with the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics, helping to finance and expedite the production of naval aircraft.

Returning to the Chicago area after the war, he became a vice president at Marsh and McLennan Insurance Company. During these years, he maintained and continued an involvement with his two alma maters, particularly Harvard. He was president of the Harvard Club of Chicago and a director of the Harvard Alumni Association. In 1960 he accepted a job in Cambridge to head up the joint secretariat of the Harvard Alumni Association and the Associated Harvard Clubs. After the merger of these two bodies, in which he played a leading role, he became general secretary of the alumni.

He retired in 1983 and continued his spirited connection to the university. He had a talent for bringing people together which was particularly evident in 1985 when, as class agent, he organized his 50th reunion. Also during this reunion he was able to incorporate his love for both the railway and Louis Armstrong by organizing a train trip to the Cape complete with a jazz band. In 1990 he received the Harvard Medal, the highest alumni award.

Another interesting factor in Mr. Gillette's life was his involvement in Rosehill Cemetery, the largest non-sectarian cemetery in Chicago. He inherited a portion of its ownership from his uncle and served as treasurer until the time he moved east. When the president quit in 1973, Mr. Gillette stepped in and ran the show from Massachusetts, commuting to Chicago twice a month. By 1979, Rosehill was doing well, and he sold it a year later after a fairly complicated transaction.

Never far from the Cambridge scene, he volunteered for several years at the Harvard Square information booth where he was a font of diverse information regarding local transit systems, restaurants, and pathways around the Harvard campus.

Mr. Gillette and his wife Mary were summer residents of West Chop for fifty years. Picnics were his passion, which included frequent forays to Quansoo, or celebrations on the deck of their home. Rainy days were often "Plan B" occasions for serving his trademark fish chowder. Longtime Chicago friends were frequent visitors.

When he learned of his wife's diagnosis of Alzheimer's, he considered himself lucky to have a new job at the age of eighty-five. He faced this challenge with thoughtful devotion, grace, and a sense of humor. He discovered new sources of strength within himself.

He never failed to find joy in his wife's presence. He was a gentle and kind man with a unique sense of humor who attracted the affection of people of all ages.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary; children Howard Jr. of Haddonfield, N.J., Cornelia Zimmermann and Jonathon Gillette of New Haven, Conn., Mary D. Gillette of Edgartown; and by four grandchildren, Ellery and Felix Gillette, Cornelia Gillette Rinzler and Susannah Gillette.

Memorial contributions may be made to Harvard University, or to your local or regional Alzheimer's Association in honor of his wife.