James David Gire, age 87 of Charleston, died on Monday, March 30, 2015, under hospice care at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 1:00 PM at the Chapel at Mound/Roselawn Cemetery. Burial with Military Rites will immediately follow. The Schilling Funeral Home of Mattoon is assisting the family.
Jim was born on July 1, 1927 in Villa Grove, Ill., son of Jesse Gire and Kathryn Allen. Jim met his future bride, Donna Lee Morgan, when she worked at Covalt’s Drug Store on the square, soon after his discharge from the U.S. Army Air Force in 1947. He entered Covalt’s asking for the latest edition of Scientific American magazine, but kept returning to Covalt’s for other reasons. Friends characterized those other reasons as “heart trouble.” They married on July 17, 1950.
Jim is survived by brothers Wayne Gire of Camargo and Tom Gire and wife Inger of Champaign, sister Judy Ludwig of Washington State; son Dann Paul Gire and wife Peggy (Burke) of Hoffman Estates, Ill.; daughter Kim Elaine Sanford and husband Robert Sanford of Hampton, N.J.; and two granddaughters, Lauren Elaine Gire of New York City and Morgan Elizabeth Gire of Chicago. James was preceded in death by his son, Donald Joe in 2004.
After graduating from Villa Grove High School in 1945 and Eastern Illinois University in 1953, Jim taught for three years at Martinsville High School before teaching science at Charleston High School for eight years. He operated a pest control company called Old Faithful that eventually became Gire Protective Service, specializing in pest and varmint control, termite inspections plus radon and radiation testing.
During the early 1960s and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jim served as Coles County’s Civil Defense Director. He taught classes on Cold War survival and how to use Geiger counters to detect radiation from atomic bombs. While building a house south of the Wrightsville Curve on the way to Lake Charleston, Jim installed one of Coles County’s first fall-out shelters, a thick, concrete-encased room that became an academic tour destination for students in his CHS science classes.
Jim made the national news in 1967 when he discovered and identified thousands of brown recluse spiders hiding inside Eastern Illinois University’s Laboratory School. The brown recluse, a spider with venom more toxic than that of a black widow, was believed to be a Southern state arachnid and had never been seen in Illinois. Jim used the brown recluse as his thesis for his Masters of Science degree at Eastern Illinois University.
During the 1970s, Jim was named a hazard analyst for the State of Illinois’ Civil Defense program. Jim spent several years designing evacuation plans for municipalities facing natural and man-made disasters.
In 1979, Jim capitalized on his knowledge of house inspections by becoming a charter member of the newly formed Wood Real Estate Agency. Jim was also a long-time member of the Charleston Toastmasters Club and served in the Rotary Club.
This biography modified from an obituary published in the JG-TC 5-13-2015.
Jim was born on July 1, 1927 in Villa Grove, Ill., son of Jesse Gire and Kathryn Allen. Jim met his future bride, Donna Lee Morgan, when she worked at Covalt’s Drug Store on the square, soon after his discharge from the U.S. Army Air Force in 1947. He entered Covalt’s asking for the latest edition of Scientific American magazine, but kept returning to Covalt’s for other reasons. Friends characterized those other reasons as “heart trouble.” They married on July 17, 1950.
Jim is survived by brothers Wayne Gire of Camargo and Tom Gire and wife Inger of Champaign, sister Judy Ludwig of Washington State; son Dann Paul Gire and wife Peggy (Burke) of Hoffman Estates, Ill.; daughter Kim Elaine Sanford and husband Robert Sanford of Hampton, N.J.; and two granddaughters, Lauren Elaine Gire of New York City and Morgan Elizabeth Gire of Chicago. James was preceded in death by his son, Donald Joe in 2004.
After graduating from Villa Grove High School in 1945 and Eastern Illinois University in 1953, Jim taught for three years at Martinsville High School before teaching science at Charleston High School for eight years. He operated a pest control company called Old Faithful that eventually became Gire Protective Service, specializing in pest and varmint control, termite inspections plus radon and radiation testing.
During the early 1960s and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jim served as Coles County’s Civil Defense Director. He taught classes on Cold War survival and how to use Geiger counters to detect radiation from atomic bombs. While building a house south of the Wrightsville Curve on the way to Lake Charleston, Jim installed one of Coles County’s first fall-out shelters, a thick, concrete-encased room that became an academic tour destination for students in his CHS science classes.
Jim made the national news in 1967 when he discovered and identified thousands of brown recluse spiders hiding inside Eastern Illinois University’s Laboratory School. The brown recluse, a spider with venom more toxic than that of a black widow, was believed to be a Southern state arachnid and had never been seen in Illinois. Jim used the brown recluse as his thesis for his Masters of Science degree at Eastern Illinois University.
During the 1970s, Jim was named a hazard analyst for the State of Illinois’ Civil Defense program. Jim spent several years designing evacuation plans for municipalities facing natural and man-made disasters.
In 1979, Jim capitalized on his knowledge of house inspections by becoming a charter member of the newly formed Wood Real Estate Agency. Jim was also a long-time member of the Charleston Toastmasters Club and served in the Rotary Club.
This biography modified from an obituary published in the JG-TC 5-13-2015.
James David Gire, age 87 of Charleston, died on Monday, March 30, 2015, under hospice care at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 1:00 PM at the Chapel at Mound/Roselawn Cemetery. Burial with Military Rites will immediately follow. The Schilling Funeral Home of Mattoon is assisting the family.
Jim was born on July 1, 1927 in Villa Grove, Ill., son of Jesse Gire and Kathryn Allen. Jim met his future bride, Donna Lee Morgan, when she worked at Covalt’s Drug Store on the square, soon after his discharge from the U.S. Army Air Force in 1947. He entered Covalt’s asking for the latest edition of Scientific American magazine, but kept returning to Covalt’s for other reasons. Friends characterized those other reasons as “heart trouble.” They married on July 17, 1950.
Jim is survived by brothers Wayne Gire of Camargo and Tom Gire and wife Inger of Champaign, sister Judy Ludwig of Washington State; son Dann Paul Gire and wife Peggy (Burke) of Hoffman Estates, Ill.; daughter Kim Elaine Sanford and husband Robert Sanford of Hampton, N.J.; and two granddaughters, Lauren Elaine Gire of New York City and Morgan Elizabeth Gire of Chicago. James was preceded in death by his son, Donald Joe in 2004.
After graduating from Villa Grove High School in 1945 and Eastern Illinois University in 1953, Jim taught for three years at Martinsville High School before teaching science at Charleston High School for eight years. He operated a pest control company called Old Faithful that eventually became Gire Protective Service, specializing in pest and varmint control, termite inspections plus radon and radiation testing.
During the early 1960s and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jim served as Coles County’s Civil Defense Director. He taught classes on Cold War survival and how to use Geiger counters to detect radiation from atomic bombs. While building a house south of the Wrightsville Curve on the way to Lake Charleston, Jim installed one of Coles County’s first fall-out shelters, a thick, concrete-encased room that became an academic tour destination for students in his CHS science classes.
Jim made the national news in 1967 when he discovered and identified thousands of brown recluse spiders hiding inside Eastern Illinois University’s Laboratory School. The brown recluse, a spider with venom more toxic than that of a black widow, was believed to be a Southern state arachnid and had never been seen in Illinois. Jim used the brown recluse as his thesis for his Masters of Science degree at Eastern Illinois University.
During the 1970s, Jim was named a hazard analyst for the State of Illinois’ Civil Defense program. Jim spent several years designing evacuation plans for municipalities facing natural and man-made disasters.
In 1979, Jim capitalized on his knowledge of house inspections by becoming a charter member of the newly formed Wood Real Estate Agency. Jim was also a long-time member of the Charleston Toastmasters Club and served in the Rotary Club.
This biography modified from an obituary published in the JG-TC 5-13-2015.
Jim was born on July 1, 1927 in Villa Grove, Ill., son of Jesse Gire and Kathryn Allen. Jim met his future bride, Donna Lee Morgan, when she worked at Covalt’s Drug Store on the square, soon after his discharge from the U.S. Army Air Force in 1947. He entered Covalt’s asking for the latest edition of Scientific American magazine, but kept returning to Covalt’s for other reasons. Friends characterized those other reasons as “heart trouble.” They married on July 17, 1950.
Jim is survived by brothers Wayne Gire of Camargo and Tom Gire and wife Inger of Champaign, sister Judy Ludwig of Washington State; son Dann Paul Gire and wife Peggy (Burke) of Hoffman Estates, Ill.; daughter Kim Elaine Sanford and husband Robert Sanford of Hampton, N.J.; and two granddaughters, Lauren Elaine Gire of New York City and Morgan Elizabeth Gire of Chicago. James was preceded in death by his son, Donald Joe in 2004.
After graduating from Villa Grove High School in 1945 and Eastern Illinois University in 1953, Jim taught for three years at Martinsville High School before teaching science at Charleston High School for eight years. He operated a pest control company called Old Faithful that eventually became Gire Protective Service, specializing in pest and varmint control, termite inspections plus radon and radiation testing.
During the early 1960s and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jim served as Coles County’s Civil Defense Director. He taught classes on Cold War survival and how to use Geiger counters to detect radiation from atomic bombs. While building a house south of the Wrightsville Curve on the way to Lake Charleston, Jim installed one of Coles County’s first fall-out shelters, a thick, concrete-encased room that became an academic tour destination for students in his CHS science classes.
Jim made the national news in 1967 when he discovered and identified thousands of brown recluse spiders hiding inside Eastern Illinois University’s Laboratory School. The brown recluse, a spider with venom more toxic than that of a black widow, was believed to be a Southern state arachnid and had never been seen in Illinois. Jim used the brown recluse as his thesis for his Masters of Science degree at Eastern Illinois University.
During the 1970s, Jim was named a hazard analyst for the State of Illinois’ Civil Defense program. Jim spent several years designing evacuation plans for municipalities facing natural and man-made disasters.
In 1979, Jim capitalized on his knowledge of house inspections by becoming a charter member of the newly formed Wood Real Estate Agency. Jim was also a long-time member of the Charleston Toastmasters Club and served in the Rotary Club.
This biography modified from an obituary published in the JG-TC 5-13-2015.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
