Lt. Col. Paul F. Gillis,
USAFR (Ret.), 71
DOVER - Lt. Col. Paul F. Gillis passed away at home on August 13, 2021. Born on Apr. 19, 1950, in Winthrop, Mass., he was the son of the late Frederick and Helen (Murray) Gillis.
Lt. Col. Gillis was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1972. After pilot training, he was assigned to Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, flying the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft. Leaving active duty after six years, he joined the Air Force Reserves at Dover AFB. During his civilian career while in the Reserves, he flew a North American Sabreliner aircraft out of Philadelphia. Finally, he was hired as a full-time air reserve technician at Dover, flying the C-5 Galaxy.
Lt. Col. Gillis was assigned to the 326th Airlift Squadron at Dover Air Force Base, where he served as director of operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As chief of the 512th Operations Group standardization and evaluation section, he was certified as a C-5 flight test pilot. In 2000 he commanded a dangerous high priority mission to Greenland for which he and his C-5 crew were presented the Air Force Association's Outstanding Reserve Aircrew Award-President's Award. He retired in 2005 after more than 33 years of service.
During his service, Lt. Col. Gillis was recognized numerous times for his piloting and outstanding management skills. His military honors included four awards of the Meritorious Service Medal and two awards of the Air Force Commendation Medal.
He had been a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church since 1988, where he served several times as a junior warden. Active in his church, Lt. Col Gillis also installed additional lighting on the church grounds. In addition, he was a member of the Shoreline Garden Railroad Club, where he had served as president, and of the Skipjack Model Sailing Club at the St. Michael's Museum. In addition to his interests in railroading and sailing, he was an avid and skilled woodworker who enjoyed making furniture for his home. Lt. Col. Gillis was a lifetime member of the Air Mobility Command Museum Foundation on Dover AFB and served as vice president of its board of directors. As the foundation's education director, he took over the brick and donor plaque recognition program and was the driving force behind its Aviation Summer Camp Program. Demonstrations of his technical expertise included wiring many of the museum's display aircraft with internal lighting, increasing visitors' enjoyment of the planes, and improving safety inside the decades-old aircraft.
Lt. Col Gillis is survived by Carol A. (Milliette) Gillis, his wife of 40 years; two brothers, William Gillis of Panama City, Fla. and Richard Gillis of Kissimmee, Fla., and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Frederick and Robert Gillis.
A funeral service will be 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 210 Old North Road, Camden. Casual attire is recommended. A committal service will follow at 2 p.m. at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Road, Bear.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Air Mobility Command Museum Foundation, P.O. Box 2024, Dover AFB, DE 19902-9998, to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675-8516 or Purrfect Haven Cat Rescue, P.O. Box 1737, Dover, DE 19903.
Online condolences may be made via www.pippinfuneralhome.com