With his loving wife Lili, son Sean and daughter Jackie by his side, Canadian squash icon, Jay Gillespie, 60, passed away Saturday February 6th after a 2 1/2 year battle with pancreatic cancer. A Canadian intercollegiate individual and team champion at the University of Toronto during the late-1970’s, Gillespie also won the Canadian Nationals in 1981 and a pair each of Canadian National Doubles (in 1982 with Dave Hetherington and 1987 with Victor Harding) and U. S. National Doubles (with Harding in 1983 and Peter Martin in 1985). In addition to these exploits in national Open competition, he captured a total of 16 Canadian, 2 US and 3 World age-group men’s and mixed doubles titles as well as three Ontario Open singles and 21 Ontario doubles championships, eight of them at the Open level, the last of which, with Scott Dulmage in 2004, occurred when Gillespie was 49 years old.
Affectionately known as Jungle Jay, Gillespie was a fixture in Ontario and in national and regional play for nearly four decades. Remarkably, he stayed connected to squash and kept competing nearly to the very end, even while undergoing medical treatments. Inducted into the Ontario Squash Hall of Fame in 2015, the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Cricket Club Squash Wall of Fame in 2013, Jay, amongst his many accolades, holds the longest record for consecutive Canadian Mixed Doubles titles of 11 straight years (2004-2014).
Jay was a friend to us all, a loving father and husband, an encouraging coach and one heck of a squash player. He will be sorely missed by the entire squash community both north and south of the boarder. Let us not forget, in Jay’s honour, “every ball back”!
A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 3 p.m. at the Toronto Cricket Club, 141 Wilson Ave., North York. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jay’s memory to Pancreatic Cancer Canada (pancreaticcancercanada.ca) would be greatly appreciated.
JAY GILLESPIE: A CANADIAN SQUASH ICON
(June 11, 1955 – February 6, 2016)
ONTARIO DOUBLES TITLES (21)
Men’s Open – 8 times (1982, partner: Dave Hetherington; 1983, 1985 & 1989, partner: Victor
Harding; 1986, partner: Bill Macdonell; 1991, partner: Steve Hisey; 2003, partner: Richard Thompson, 2004, partner: Scott Dulmage);
Men's 40's – 4 times (1999 & 2002, partner: Graeme Duff; 2003 & 2004, partner: Mike Costigan);
Men's 50's – 3 times (2006 & 2007, partner: Graeme Duff; 2010, partner: Jim McDonough);
Mixed 40’s and 50’s – 6 times (2006, 2007 & 2008, partner: Lolly Gillen; 2005, 2011 & 2013, partner: Leslie Freeman).
CANADIAN DOUBLES TITLES (18)
Men's Open – 2 times (1982-Dave Hetherington, 87-Victor Harding);
Men's 45's – 1 time (2005-Doug Rice);
Men's 50's – 2 times (2006 & 2007-Graeme Duff);
Men's 55's – 1 time (2012-Tom Boldt);
Mixed 40's – 3 times (2004, 05, &06-Leslie Freeman);
Mixed 50's – 4 times (2007, 08 & 09-Lolly Gillen, 2010-Leslie Freeman);
Mixed 55's – 4 times (2011-14-Lolly Gillen);
Canadian Century (2014- Scott Stoneburg).
US DOUBLES TITLES (4)
Men’s Open – 2 times (1983, partner: Victor Harding; 1985, partner: Peter Martin);
Men’s 50's – 1 time (2007, partner: Tom Boldt);
Mixed 50+ – 1 time (2008, partner: Joyce Davenport).
WORLD DOUBLES TITLES (3)
Men's 40's -1 time (1998, partner: Graeme Duff);
Men's 50's – 1 time (2006, partner: Graeme Duff);
Mixed 50’s -1 time (2006, partner: Leslie Freeman).
CANADIAN HARDBALL TITLES (3)
Canadian Intercollegiate Champion – 2 times (1978 & 1981);
Men’s Open – 1 time (1981);
Men's 35+ – 2 times (1993 & 1994).
ONTARIO SINGLES TITLES (4)
Ontario Singles Open – 3 times (1977, 1981, 1983);
Ontario Juniors – 1 time (1974).
Other Events of Note
Marianne Caldwell Men’s 40+ Doubles – 4 times (1997, 2001, 2003, 2005);
Gold Racquets (NYC) – Men’s Open Doubles (1977) & Open Singles (1981).
