Obituary of Allan James Gillespie

It is with immense sadness that the family of the late Allan James Gillespie announce his passing on April 24th, 2022, at the age of 58. Leaving to mourn with fond memories of laughter and love are his wife Sandra; children Blake, Brandon (Stacey); brothers Mike (Clarice) Gillespie, Don (Patricia) Gillespie, John (Cathy) Gillespie; sisters Betty Gillespie, Paula (Neil) Anstey, Catherine (Greg) Walsh, and Ann Marie (Shawn) Gillespie; brothers-in-law Gary Budgell, and David (Wilmari) Budgell; and his chosen family: Jimmy & Connie Keough, and Gordon & Debbie Davis; many nieces, nephews and extended family members, loyal co-workers, and a very large circle of loving friends. 

Allan grew up right across from the trestle on Riverside Drive in Bishop’s Falls, NL. He was a (very) proud Montreal Canadiens fan, an avid camper, and you’d be likely to mistake him for an amateur comedian given how much he loved to make people smile and laugh.

Al had a successful career as a heavy equipment salesperson, and for the past 17 years he worked with United Rentals. Anyone who knows Al, knows that he dearly loved his work and he cherished his relationships with his United Rentals family at the “Branch” and across the province. He so dearly appreciated the support of his work buddies during his battle with cancer (Danny, Freddy, Gord, Whitey, Kenny, Ryan, Paul, and the big boss Steve). Al also built countless relationships with customers, contacts, and friends across the province through his work. Many of those relationships became enduring friendships that Al valued deeply. People often remark that “everyone knows Al”, and that was partly a product of the work he loved.

Up until his passing Al was also the Mayor of the Town of Massey Drive. A role he proudly held for just over 4 years. He had incredible pride in the little town that became his home of 17 years.

But above all else, he was most proud of his family. There is nothing that made him happier than being with his loving wife, his boys and his dog, Nayla. In recent years he was tickled to add the daughter he never had, Stacey, and his grand puppy Freddy to the fold. His family meant everything to him and that was evidenced by the love he showed to them each and every day.

Allan was predeceased by his parents, William and Mary, brother Bill, sister Brenda, and parents-in-law Havard and Marie Budgell.

Cremation has taken place. There will be a visitation held at Fillatre’s Funeral Home on 4 St. Marks Avenue, Corner Brook, NL for the public at the following times: -Wednesday, April 27th, 7-9pm -Thursday, April 28th, 2-4pm

A celebration of life will also take place at Fillatre’s Funeral Home at 7pm on Thursday, April 28th. This ceremony is open to the public and will be live-streamed through the following link https://event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=b996a77e-cf2a-4f17-be37-0237e893baaf

Funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April 30th at 11am at Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish located in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL. As per Public Health guidelines, masks and social distancing are recommended inside the Cathedral. If you have symptoms or Covid-19, have been a close contact of someone with Covid-19, or should be self-isolating, we ask that you please choose to attend the funeral online.The funeral will be open to the public and wwill be live-streamed through the following link https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FYouTube.com%2Fc%2FImmaculateConceptionCathedralParishGFW%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR09Av2jP-_p0qMWj5kmlvYkMUcWw7UdzCbaX4BHbo4TijsJF2R6AXu1VLI&h=AT2QWN6lOlqTK7Wnnl4gtFxHJelLo8GSf3rL8J196ZAaEWtvbF6F49H2h3hOxqHcx-R0fO_P9R_-tPz9lGvnIb10wg81-zNHxQMNLeveTOQvW6bmEBWY9YTLlK4hVmKl9ws

Our family would like to acknowledge the compassionate staff at the Intensive Care Unit of Western Memorial Regional Hospital. The staff treated Allan with so much dignity and supported our family so lovingly. We are touched and forever grateful. We would also like to acknowledge Allan’s care team throughout his battle with cancer: Dr. Manning, Dr. Kelly, the nurses and staff at the cancer clinic of WMRH, and his longtime family physician, Dr. Peter Callahan.

Any expressions of sympathy donations may be made to the Allan J. Gillespie Scholarship Fund, which will be established in his memory to honour post-secondary students with an interest in sales. Donations can be made at the following link: https://gofund.me/239fdd6b