The Gillespies |  John Gillespie met his wife, Jan, when he was in second grade at the same one-room school house north of Appleton that his father and grandfather had attended. They married in 1947 and John went on to receive a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from UW-Madison. After serving as a captain in a US Army Combat Engineer Company, he ran a successful architectural business designing subdivisions and golf courses.
In the early 1960s, John and Jan invited Jerry, a 13-year-old boy, to their home after Sunday school. They knew something was wrong when he arrived at their front door with a packed suitcase. It was clear Jerry needed help, so John and Jan invited him to stay at their rural Appleton home for the day. He ended up staying with them for a year and a half. The Gillespies quickly felt a calling to help other young men like Jerry.
At the same time, John had been working on an architectural project in New London with a Chicago businessman. The property, with a large home and over 700 acres of land off the Wolf River, was the kind of place John envisioned owning so he and Jan could help more troubled young men. He shared his idea for the property with the businessman who offered to sell it for $60,000, a large sum at that time. In faith, John accepted his offer.
Gillespie realized early on that he would need help. He approached Green Bay Packer Quarterback Bart Starr, after looking him up in the phone book. Upon hearing the initial idea, Bart Starr invited John and Jan to visit with him and his wife Cherry at their home. The Gillespies soon discovered that the Starrs shared a similar vision to theirs and they made a commitment to help them.
With the help of Bart Starr and Cherry, the Gillespies purchased the property and Rawhide was born. John and Jan, with their young sons, Steve and Tim, moved to Rawhide in late 1965. From then until 1993, the Gillespies helped over 300 troubled teenage boys. In 1993 John decided to focus his efforts in the continued development of Rawhide as head of fund raising until his retirement in April 2000.
John and Jan Gillespie continue to serve as spokespersons for Rawhide and live in Appleton, Wisconsin. They enjoy spending time with their two sons and their grandchildren and are active in their church and community.
In July of 2007, John and Jan celebrated 50 years of marriage in a ceremony held on the Rawhide grounds. To read the story, visit the link below. |
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