John Henry Gillespie Jr.

John was born September 17th, 1946 in Pheonix, Arizona to John and Clarice Gillespie. His family relocated to the Antelope Valley in 1955. John graduated from Palmdale High School in 1965 where he played varsity baseball, basketball, and football and was voted senior athlete. He continued his education at Antelope Valley College where he played baseball and basketball. In 1972, John graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Pharmacy where he was a member of the Rho Chi Pharmaceutical Honor Society.

John began his career as a pharmacist in 1972 at Mira Loma Hospital. He worked at Antelope Valley Hospital and Lancaster Community Hospital throughout the 1970’s and early 1980’s. John continued working at various retail pharmacies including Thrifty’s Drug Store and Gemco. He retired from Walmart Pharmacy in 2001.

John was an avid hiker who climbed Mount Whitney three times. He also enjoyed camping in Yosemite, bowling and gardening. He looked forward to spending time with his family playing Chess and Scrabble.

John was known for his perseverance. Even though he had Parkinson’s Disease for over 35 years, he continued hiking, camping and enjoying time with family.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Ronald Gillespie. He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years Gloria Gillespie; sister Roxana Carmichael (Ronald); brother Tom Gillespie; daughter Cynthia St. Peter (Jase); granddaughter Kayla St. Peter; grandson Gavin St. Peter; father-in-law Vern Chase; and various nieces and nephews.

Services will be held on September 11th at 10:00 am at Joshua Memoria Park in Lancaster. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease.