Page created by: Amanda Gillman

Bob was born in Huntington, New York, on March 31st, 1943, to the late Lois and Edmund Gillman. After growing up in Long Island, New York and graduating from Northport High School, he joined the US Navy in 1963. Over his four years of proud service, he maintained submarines in ports across the United States, worked on the USS Claud Jones during a tour to Da Nang, Vietnam, and rose to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class before being honorably discharged in 1967. He majored in Industrial Engineering Design at San Diego University, continued on to study Mechanical Drafting at Island Design and Drafting School, and later studied Environmental Science and Design Systems at the State University of New York. His drive and expertise led him to positions with Grummen Aerospace Corporation as a machine designer, New York's Department of Public Works as an environmental engineer, and 20 rewarding years with Hazeltine Engineering Corporation as a design engineering group leader. Eventually, he relocated to Farmington, Michigan, and worked with AAR Structure Corporation as a drafting designer.  

Bob was a dedicated father who raised his eldest children in New York and his youngest children in Michigan. He was an outdoorsman at heart, and loved camping, hunting, and fishing. He found everyday joy in his passion for horticulture, which he nurtured with gardening, landscaping, and bonsai. For Bob, summer weekends always meant long, rewarding days spent outside, whether it was to build a playhouse, plant a tree, or to find a solution for a practical engineering problem somewhere around his home or community. He also loved movies, and could always be convinced to end the day's work with a screening of a classic Western. Baseball, Johnny Cash, and Cherry Coke were easy ways to make him smile. 

Bob took on the joys and challenges of life with a deep sense of honor. Even in the toughest times, his pride in his experiences, achievements, and his four children shone through, and he believed in the importance of appreciating life regardless of the curveballs it might throw. His battle with atypical Parkinsonism did not diminish these values, and his loved ones are grateful to have been part of his journey.