Obituary
Shirley Gillette, education specialist at WNET
Shirley Gillette, who worked for more than two decades at New York’s WNET, died July 26 [2011] at her home atop Schooley’s Mountain in New Jersey after an illness.
“In her own strong and forthright way,” said an Aug. 16 tribute on the local Long Valley Patch website, Gillette “blazed a trail for women by earning her master’s degree at a time when only a small circle of women attended institutions of higher learning, and worked as one of the early pioneers in public television.”
She worked 23 years as director of educational programming at the station.
She was born in Pontiac, Ill., to Ralph and Lavica Bradshaw. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois in 1956, and afterwards taught high-school speech and drama in Manhasset, N.Y.
Gillette had been a state campaign coordinator for the Young Republicans, served on the campaign staff for Richard Nixon’s presidential bid in 1960, and in 1965 co-chaired the New York State Republican Senatorial Campaign. Also that year she earned a master’s degree at New York University.
She was preceded in death by her husband, George Gillette. Survivors include her daughter, Michele Mellon, of Florida; son, Terry Gillette; granddaughters, Erin Carey, Georgia and Paige Gillette, all of Florida; niece, Catherine Fetzner of Michigan; and nephews, Brad and William Ulfig of Illinois.
A memorial service and celebration of her life took place Aug. 21 at Schooley’s Mountain Lodge.
Obituary in Long Valley Patch.
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