Smyrna - Arlette M. Gillis passed away Apr. 29, 2015. She was a longtime member of the Smyrna community and was active in many local civic organizations. Arlette and her husband Lee spent ten years as volunteers for the Smyrna Opera House. Together, they also volunteered with the Friends of the Duck Creek Regional Library, doing fundraising activities for the new library in Smyrna. She was also a member of the Smyrna Book Club, the 20th Century Club of Smyrna, and the Duck Creek Historical Society. Born in Casablanca, French Morocco on Apr. 17, 1932, Arlette was the daughter of the late Jean-Baptiste Ortola and Jeanette (Soler) Ortola. As a teenager and in her early twenties she was a very active athlete, as a prominent member of the champion women's track and field club and basketball and volleyball teams. Excelling particularly as a sprinter, Arlette won countless French, French Moroccan, and North African championship 100 meter events, including the 4x100 meter relay, in her four most active years. In addition to her champion sprinting, Arlette won the Women's High Jump at the 1955 Fédération Sportive de France Championship in Paris, France. That same year, Arlette participated in the European Games in Austria, once again winning several medals and was pre-selected by France to participate in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. After a one and a half year courtship, Arlette married Harvey (Lee) Gillis in 1957 while he was serving in French Morocco with the United States Air Force. In 1978, after two decades of living all over the world with her family, she graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts in History, with high distinctions. As she was finishing her degree, she worked as a Congressional Research Analyst at the Library of Congress for 13 years. Following this, she worked as an Analyst for the Department of Defense for nine years, enabling her once again to travel to many countries abroad. After retiring from the federal government in 1996, she moved to Smyrna, Delaware with her husband. Having a long-time passion for teaching, she was a substitute teacher for ten years in the Smyrna school system, following her retirement. Being multilingual, fluent in French, Spanish, and English with good working knowledge of Italian and Arabic languages, she felt that she could make a strong difference by instructing her students in French and Spanish. Arlette was also known by many as an excellent cook. In recognition of her exceptional cooking, she was announced the winner of the 2012-13 Friends of Duck Creek Regional Library Best Baker Award. Among her hobbies and pastimes were cooking, traveling, spending time with her greatly beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren, visiting her cousins and childhood friends and their families in France, and curling up with a good book. She was preceded in death by her aforementioned parents, Jean-Baptiste and Jeanette Ortola, father-in-law and mother-in-law Gene and Ruby Gillis (White Hall, Illinois), and sister-in-law Donna Faye Campbell (White Hall, Illinois). She is survived by her husband, Harvey Lee Gillis, of Smyrna; their son, Steven Gillis and his wife, Rosanne (Falls Church, Virginia); three grandchildren, Andrew and his wife, Sarah, Sadie-Evelyn, and Morgan (all of Virginia); two great-grandchildren, Ruby and June (Virginia); her husband's siblings, John and his wife, Marylou, June Douglas and her husband, Bob, Fred and his wife, Linda, Dick and his wife, Allyson, and George (all of Illinois). A visitation will be held on Tues,, May 26, 2015 from 3-4 p.m. in the Faries Funeral Chapel, located at 29 S. Main Street in Smyrna. Memorial services will be held directly afterwards. A gathering of friends and family will be hosted at the Smyrna Opera House, located at 7 W. South Street in Smyrna. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Friends of Duck Creek Library may be made in Arlette's memory. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 218, Smyrna, Delaware 19977. Condolence letters may be sent by visiting www.fariesfuneralhome.com