Obituary: John C. Gilmour
John C. Gilmour, a retired philosophy professor whose later years in Maine were shaped by sailing, singing and an enduring curiosity about art and music, died April 24, 2026. He was 87.
Born on Jan. 23, 1939, in Rostraver, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Gilmour grew up as a devoted fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers, loyalties he carried throughout his life. He earned a doctoral degree from Emory University and went on to teach at Hofstra University and Norwich University before settling into the role that would define his academic career at Alfred University in rural western New York.
From 1970 until his retirement in 2001, Gilmour taught philosophy at Alfred and led a number of interdisciplinary projects across the curriculum. He developed a new course of study there called Philosophy of Art, a subject that reflected a sincere, lifelong interest in the arts. He regularly visited galleries and studios, and he published two books, edited another and contributed several papers to scholarly journals exploring art and creativity.
After retiring, Gilmour moved to Maine, first living in Newcastle and later in Brunswick. The coast drew him there. He became an enthusiastic sailor on Casco Bay, taking to the ocean, rivers and coves that had helped pull him north.
Gardening became another of his abiding pursuits. He maintained flower gardens at every home he lived in and made it a point to have something in bloom from spring through autumn.
Music, too, grew into one of his greatest loves. He sang for many years with Vox Nova and later with the Una Voce Chamber Choir, rarely missing a rehearsal unless illness kept him away. Music gave him great pleasure and was central to his life, his family said.
He was also a devoted filmgoer who audited film classes at Bowdoin College after his move to Maine, and a dedicated jazz fan who regularly traveled to the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Bang on a Can series.
Gilmour met Nancy Shaw in 2017, and the two shared more than eight years together, traveling to England, France, Germany and Alaska and frequently attending performances by the Portland Symphony and Portland Stage.
He was predeceased by his parents, Daniel Gilmour Jr. and Mae Nicholls Gilmour; his stepdaughter, Barbara Harrington, and her husband, Terry Harrington; and his second wife, Sheila Williams Wall Gilmour.
He is survived by his brother, Daniel Gilmour III; his sons, Andrew Doud and his wife Monica Fox Doud, and Brian Doud; his grandchildren, Jonah and Samuel Doud; his stepchildren, William Wall, Sara Bollinger and her husband Christopher Bollinger, and Mary Wall and her husband Marc Shankman; and his step-grandchildren, Jeremy Wall, Kelley Wall Kovacs, Matthew and Alex Harrington, and Deana Bollinger Ingram. He is also survived by his partner, Nancy Shaw.
A celebration of his life will be held on June 27 at 11 a.m. at the Brunswick Hotel, with a virtual connection available for friends unable to attend in person. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Una Voce Chamber Choir or to a charity of one's choice.
