Mrs. Lillian Ruth Gillespie died on Nov. 15, 2016, in Oak Harbor at age 94. She had lived in Oak Harbor since 1969. Lillian was born in Independence, Kan. on Feb. 20, 1922, to Oatis and Jenny Bates.

Her family moved to California in the Dust Bowl migration when she was 14. When she was 18, she was married to Marion Clonts, of Riverbank, Calif., and to that union a daughter, Mary Ann, was born. Lillian was married for 62 years to LCDR Lindsay Gillespie, USN Ret., of Oak Harbor. A daughter, Susan, was born to the marriage of Lindsay and Lillian.

During their military service they lived in Alameda, Calif.; Hutchinson, Kan.; Olathe, Kan.; San Diego; Barbers Point, Hawaii; and Oak Harbor. Before moving to Kansas, she was a certified laboratory technician for Contradina Cannery in Riverbank, Calif., having trained at the University of California, Berkeley.

She bought (and roofed) her own house in her 20s. She designed and sewed clothing for herself and her sisters, daughters and nieces. She graduated from high school in San Diego, Calif., and attended San Diego City College and the University of Hawaii. During her life as a Navy wife, she was active in the Officers’ Navy Wives Club and PTA, was editor of the Navy Wives Club newsletter and was a Campfire and Girl Scout Club leader. She traveled to Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. In Oak Harbor, Lillian managed their rental property, and, after obtaining her real estate license, she worked for several real estate companies in Oak Harbor.

Lillian is survived by her husband; daughters Mary Ann Dean of Plainview, Neb., and Susan Gillespie (and fiancée Hal C. Moss III), of Brandon, Miss.; two granddaughters, Kelly Dean of Omaha, Neb., and Kimberly (and her husband Scott) Miller of Kennard, Neb.; and four great grandchildren, Molly, Sydney, Jacob and Joshua Miller. She is also survived by two sisters, Betty Young and Dixie Avila, and her brother, Sam Bates, of Riverbank, Calif., and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Oatis Bates; mother, Jennie Bates; two brothers, John, and PFC (USMC) George Harold (Buddy) Bates, KIA at Guadalcanal; two sisters, Rose Ann Tackett and Dorothy Tackett; sister-in-law Carol Locke, and son-in-law Duane Dean. A memorial service was held Sunday, Nov. 20, in Oak Harbor.