Margaret Ann Gillis

Margaret Ann Gillis, 84, passed away unexpectedly on July 18, 2024 in Silver Spring, Maryland.  The daughter of Ivo and Leona (Homan) Westgerdes, Marge was born on February 16, 1940, in Coldwater, Ohio.  She was the eldest of four siblings.  Marge attended Coldwater High School, where she was a member of the marching band and played the saxophone.  After graduating in 1958, she worked for New Idea, a farm equipment company, as a mail clerk and switchboard operator. 

It was there that she met Paul Gillis, who was auditing the books of her employer.  He was so taken with Marge, he proposed after knowing her only a few weeks.  Level-headed, Marge declined but they continued a long-distance relationship by phone every Sunday evening.  Within a year, he proposed again and they were married at Holy Trinity Church in Coldwater on April 30, 1960.  After marrying, they settled in Washington, DC and moved to Silver Spring, Maryland in 1965. 

Marge is remembered for having conscientiously maintained her lifelong connections with family and old friends.  In the mornings, she would write letters and cards to share the details of her new life as a wife and later as a mother, and always attended her high school reunions.  Old friends frequently commented on the constancy of her contact and her beautiful penmanship.

Marge and Paul raised five children and had eleven grandchildren.  She considered motherhood and homemaking her true vocations.  Marge was incredibly hard working and known for being a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.  She was a woman of deep abiding faith and had an active prayer life; she attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, where she was a parishioner for nearly 60 years.  She served as a Eucharistic minister and greeter, decorated and cleaned the church for holidays, volunteered for organizations that served the homeless including Shepherd’s Table, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and Share A Meal.  She and Paul had a special devotion to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and its mission of supporting the elderly poor.  For over 40 years, Marge and Paul participated in Teams of our Lady, a Catholic couples Bible-study.  Marge and Paul sent all five children to Catholic school through high school and for years took the children on many retreats, including to the Marianist Retreat House in Cape May Point, NJ. 

Before having children, Marge worked at GEICO Insurance Company in Chevy Chase, Maryland and later when the children were in school, she worked at CNA Insurance.  In the late 1980s, after their fifth child Chris was born, Marge started a home daycare so that Chris would have playmates.  She continued that daycare for nearly 30 years, giving affectionate care to dozens of children. Marge was a source of light and love to family, friends, and neighbors.  She was an avid gardener and enjoyed baking. In both of these pursuits she shared her talents with others – whether it was maintaining the traffic circle plantings on her street or preparing delicious baked goods for friends and neighbors.  She often volunteered to drive others to medical appointments and visited the sick.  Marge was a person for others. 

After Paul’s retirement, he and Marge enjoyed weekend excursions all around the Chesapeake Bay region and loved nothing more than a good crab feast with friends and family.  As Paul’s heath declined, Marge devoted herself to his care.  He often spoke of how Marge was a wonderful wife and how grateful he was.  After Paul’s death, Marge enjoyed time with family and friends, especially outings with her best friend, Sr. Katie Mindling, and daughter, Susie. 

Marge is survived by her children Patty Cousins (Bill Dempster); John Gillis (Katie); Susie Hodges (Wiley); Mary Lynn Clark (Matt); and Chris Gillis (Lynsay), and eleven grandchildren, Grace, Will, and Patrick Cousins; Calvin and Amelia Hodges; Laura, Ellie, and Gabe Clark; and Cameron, Brooke, and Emily Gillis; and her siblings, Jerry Westgerdes (Marilyn), Ralph Westgerdes (Cathy) and Rosie Lochtefeld (Bob).  She was predeceased by her husband, Paul, who died on November 30, 2022.

A celebration of Marge’s life will be held at St. John the Evangelist Church, 10103 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20902, on Monday, July 29, 2025, with Visitation at 10:30 a.m. and Funeral Mass at 11:30 a.m.  Internment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20906. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to:  The Little Sisters of the Poor at https://www.littlesistersofthepoorwashingtondc.org/