Wayne Gordon Gillespie was born in West Virginia and raised in the small town of Floyd, VA. His father owned a dairy farm, and Wayne grew up performing all the chores—milking, planting, baling hay—that fill the lives of farm boys. Even with the demands of his farm work, he excelled at school. Wayne was the captain of his high school basketball team, baseball team, and debate team and president of the student government. He was valedictorian and the first person from Floyd County to receive an appointment to West Point.
At the Academy, Wayne was on the Dean’s list for four years. He was a debater and especially skilled with languages, a talent that he would develop further later in his career. His roommates remember him for his Virginia drawl, dry sense of humor and kind heart.
Wayne graduated high in his West Point class and upon graduation joined the Air Defense Artillery. He was stationed in Germany for his first three years of service as a battery commander in a Nike-Hercules battalion. In Germany, he married Ruth, a native of Germany, and in the 1960s they were blessed with two children, Patricia and Gordon.
In 1964, the family was transferred to Ft. Hood, TX, where Wayne served as a liaison officer and battery commander. Wayne displayed a natural flair for languages, and those language skills were further tapped when he served as an advisor with the Military Assistance Command, Viet Nam, from 1965–66.
Upon promotion to major, Wayne was appointed departmental executive officer and German language instructor at West Point, serving from 1968 to 1971. Afterwards, he returned to Viet Nam again as an advisor. In 1972, Wayne returned to Germany as a J-5 planning officer at the U.S. European Command Headquarters. He also served at NATO headquarters under GEN Alexander Haig.
Wayne was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1976. He was an avid learner, and in addition to writing his master’s thesis in German at Middlebury College, VT, he also attended the Naval War College in 1976. Throughout his career, Wayne was honored with several medals, but he was especially proud of the medal he received from the government of Germany for fostering U.S.–German relations, the highest honor the German government bestows on a foreigner.
Army life and tours to Viet Nam had taken a toll on Wayne’s marriage, and in 1975, Wayne and Ruth divorced. In 1979, Wayne was transferred to the Pentagon, where he was a staff officer at the Army International Rationalization Office. While at the Pentagon he met Kamlesh (“Kam”), a neighbor who worked at the World Bank. Wayne and Kam were married in 1982, and Wayne was thrilled to become a dad once again when their daughter Haley was born in 1983.
In 1981, Wayne transferred to the Army Materiel Command (AMC) in Alexandria, VA, where he served as research and development coordinator and, finally, as Materiel Acquisitions Management project officer. While stationed at AMC, Wayne inadvertently became embroiled in the Iran-Contra scandal. After a grueling legal battle that drained the family financially and emotionally, the case against Wayne was thrown out, and he was acquitted of all charges. Wayne retired from the military shortly thereafter in 1986.
After retiring from the Army, Wayne worked briefly in marketing and insurance. He found true happiness, however, when the family moved to the country in 1993. Wayne and Kam bought a bed-and-breakfast on a 65-acre farm in Deep Creek Lake, MD, and named it Haley Farm, in honor of their daughter. Initially they also taught at the local college, Wayne teaching government and Kam economics. Wayne loved the B&B and the farm. He loved regaling guests with stories of his and Kam’s travels, and he loved being a gentleman farmer. He planted over a hundred fruit trees on the farm and delighted in sharing the fruits and vegetables he grew with his guests and friends.
In 2000, the B&B was doing well enough to hire full-time innkeepers, so Wayne and Kam devoted their time to traveling again. Wayne loved cruising. His favorite destination was Tahiti, followed closely by Hawaii and Alaska.
Wayne also was an avid reader. For three years he and Kam had their own local TV show, where he dazzled the audience with his vast knowledge of local and national issues. He also served on the board of directors of the local Alcoholics Anonymous chapter and was an inspiration to many who were struggling with the disease.
After hiring full time innkeepers, Wayne also was able to fine tune his golf swing. He often shot his age or lower. He even made a hole-in-one while on vacation at Edisto Island in South Carolina. His other passion was fishing. A perfect day consisted of fishing in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and then a spot of gardening at the farm in the evening. Wayne also was a frequent skier, since ski slopes were only 10 minutes from the B&B. He had achieved a near-perfect existence.
Wayne is survived by his wife Kam and three children: Haley, a senior in college; Patty, residing in Russia; and Gordon, residing in Germany. Because Wayne was such an advocate of education, a scholarship fund was set up in his memory to help local students attend Garrett College, where Wayne had taught. At his request, Wayne was cremated shortly after his death on 10 Jan 2003. His remains were scattered at some of his favorite places and are also interred at Rocky Gap Veterans Cemetery, overlooking the Allegheny Mountains that he loved so much.