John William Gilligan

Born November 25, 1935

Died March 23, 2025

John William Gilligan was born to John Nicholas Macy Gilligan and Elizabeth Edna Kepler in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois. His sisters Donna and Janet soon followed. After his father’s untimely death, the family moved to Baltimore, MD, to live with Edna’s sister, Loretta and her family. Edna later met Frank Hoover, married him and moved with John’s two sisters back to Chicago. Edna and Frank later had two more daughters, Mary Bernadette (Bunny) and Regina. John decided to finish high school in Baltimore and stayed with his aunt and uncle. He graduated valedictorian from his high school and won a scholarship for his first year at Marquette University in Engineering.

John moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and began college. He was a co-op student for the City of West Allis, WI, where he met Kathleen Genrich, who worked for the City Comptroller’s office. They married 3 years later. After graduation from Marquette with his degree in Civil Engineering, John went to work for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Titan 1-A missile silo project, and John and Kathy moved together to St. Paul, MN, where their first child, Colleen, was born. One winter there was enough—they moved to Southern California, where Kevin, Karen and Erin were born. While living in Los Angeles, John earned his MS in Engineering from the University of Southern California. John was both a registered professional engineer and a registered surveyor. In 1975, the family moved to Houston, Texas. He ran his own successful engineering company in Houston for over 40 years until he retired.

John was a man of faith, and active in his local church, serving on the Parish Council at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church and a member of Prince of Peace Catholic Community for the past 40 years. He was actively involved for many years in the Willowbrook Rotary and served as president. He volunteered at Reach Unlimited in the Enterprise Program, cutting glass for 10 years—something he truly enjoyed. He loved to exercise and became a runner beginning in his fifties. He ran many marathons and ultra-marathons, always as a Grasshopper, and raised his children and grandchild to be marathoning Grasshoppers, as well. He loved reading, world travel, gardening, word puzzles, the Texans, the Rockets, stamp collecting, fixing things, continuing to learn…and a great Manhattan.

John is preceded in death by his mother, Edna, his father, Mace, his stepfather Frank, and his sister Regina. He is survived by his wife of 65 years Kathleen Genrich Gilligan, his daughters Colleen Gilligan Gilbert and her husband John; Karen Gilligan; Erin Gilligan; and his son, Kevin Gilligan; and his granddaughters: Casey Gilbert-Cave and her husband Robert; Kelly Gilligan; and Samantha Gilligan. He is also survived by his sisters Donna Tracey, Sister Janet Gilligan, and Bunny Gibson, and many nieces and nephews.