James Anthony Gillenwater

My condolences to the family and all that shared his life. I was a classmate at BS and Kapaun. He will be in my prayers!🙏🙏🙏 He will be missed. Brian Lonergan ‘67

I’m so sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. I enjoyed working and playing bridge with Jim at Boeing. May God’s peace and comfort surround you in the coming days. -Steve Olsen-

I worked with Jim quite a few years and became friends. He was a great person. May his memory be eternal ! Jeff Jabara

So sorry to hear about Jim’s passing. My condolences to all the family. The Gillenwaters and Setters go a long way back. Many, many happy memories at the corner of Grail & Quentin … and “Jimmy” was always one of my favorites. May he rest in peace and may God hold his family in the palm of his hands.

I worked with Jim in the early 80s at Boeing on the B-52 OAS/CMI Program. I interfaced with him as he was in Materiel and I was in Program Scheduling. He was always friendly and polite and treated me with respect. We had many good conversations. I ran into him years later when he was working at Cabelas and was very happy to see him again. I will always remember our friendly, working relationship and consider him one of the most pleasant people at Boeing and one of my workplace friends.

I did not know Jim Gillenwater in depth, but our paths crossed several time. I wanted to meet Jim Gillenwater, because he had the same name as my father, and people would mistakenly call my dad. When Jim was a senior in high school my father received a call from a girl who scolded him for doing something she did not think was the right thing to do.. My father listened very carefully to the young woman, and then promised never to do it again. When Jim’s marriage to Karen was publicly announced, my father received another wrong phone call. The person calling was an insurance agent, and he congratulated my dad on his marriage. Of course my father did not tell him he had the wrong number. Instead my father enthusiastically thanked the man for being happy about his own marriage. Finally in the early 1970s I met Jim Gillenwater at WSU. I think we may have shared some similar friends. Karen I wonder if you remember Dale and Nancy Wolf? I know sometime in the 1980s Greg Brenner visited you and Jim. Having twoJim Gillenwaters in Wichita was confusing, and what made it even more confusing was the fact that there were two Jim Gillenwaters at Boeing. This is where I got to know Jim A. Gillenwater better. This Jim carried significant responsibilities. I remember a couple of times when Jim was put in charge of large projects that were multi-disciplinary teams. That is when I learned more about the character of this Jim Gillenwater. Jim was intelligent, able to strategically navigate the politics of Boeing, and he was able to get people to work cooperatively. He was respectful and respectable. From the obituary it was obvious that he had a long marriage with Karen, a fruitful family, and was able to enjoy retirement. I am glad my path crossed a few times with this Jim Gillenwater. May your family have the comfort of each other’s love, and many fond memories.

I worked with Jim at Boeing for several years in the early 90’s. Jim was on of my favorite people. He was smart and I enjoyed our conversations. He was never rattled or upset. I attribute this characteristic to his Vietnam service.