Mr. John Doucette Gilbert's Obituary
John D. Gilbert went home to be with his Lord and Savior on April 2nd, 2018. He was born on July 17, 1928 to Alle and Hazel Gilbert of Duluth, Minnesota. He was a graduate of Duluth Central High School.
He was married for sixty-eight years to Nancy Ann Gilbert. He was an avid outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, and conservationist. He was active in several conservation organizations, including Ducks Unlimited, The Izaak Walton League, and the Audubon Society. He was Vice President of the Duluth Retrievers Club and was a Field Trial Judge. As a young man he helped support his growing family as a fur trapper, harkening back to the French Fur Traders who explored Northeastern Minnesota. He was intensely proud of both his French and Norwegian ancestry.
He served as a Boy Scout Leader in Duluth, Minnesota. A lifelong Episcopalian, he was a parishioner of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
In addition to working in essentially all phases of the Iron Ore industry, Dynamite Truck Driver into the open pit mines, Fireman on the DM and IR Railroad, and a loader of iron ore boats, he owned and operated three businesses; Midwest Vacuum Supply (Duluth, MN), TEAM Electronics (Springfield, IL), and The Florida Motel (Gainesville, FL).
He and his wife Nancy moved to Gainesville in 1975 with their two youngest sons. He subsequently bought and operated The Florida Motel. He became an avid saltwater fisherman and bought a boat which he fished out of primarily in Cedar Key. He won the Offshore Fisherman Award of the Year in 1979.
He was an amateur ornithologist with an encyclopedic knowledge of North American birds. He had a deep passion for birds, especially raptors (Hawks). He was a dedicated conservationist / environmentalist way before it was ‘cool’ (in the mid to late 1940’s).
He was an active member of the Gainesville Chapter of the Lion’s Club, volunteering his time to that organization. He was also an active member of several men’s groups at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Gainesville, where he and his wife have been parishioners for the past forty-three years.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy A. Gilbert, and children, John G. Gilbert, James M. Gilbert, Jay M. Gilbert, and Jody D. Gilbert as well as seven grandchildren and five great-granddaughters.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 100 N.E. First Street, Gainesville, FL 32601. A reception will follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Ducks Unlimited and The Audubon Society of Florida.
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