Things just happened if Cleon Gillilan was around.
Driveways and parking lots were plowed in the wee hours of the morning so neighbors could leave on time for work. Workplace pipes and boilers were repaired even though the task was hardly in Gillilan's job description. Grandchildren were taught how to collect sap buckets.
Gillilan did it all quietly and often without being asked, family and friends recalled Friday. And he rarely accepted more than a few dollars for any task, whether it was fixing a radiator or sharing produce from his vegetable garden.
The 83-year-old Fletcher sugarmaker was found unconscious in his sugarbush Monday evening after apparently being hit in the head by a falling dead tree he had cut for firewood. Gillilan died Wednesday at Fletcher Allen Health Care of his injuries.
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Around Fletcher, Gillilan's death spurred stories of his legendary generosity, love of baseball and the sight of his familiar blue Ford tractor driving around town no matter the season.Diane Dayvie, owner of the Fletcher General Store, said Gillilan was a near-daily visitor to her shop, picking up groceries and maple cookies shaped like maple leaves. Gillilan would usually leave something extra behind on his trips, Dayvie said, and a squash from Gillilan's garden was part of her dinner Thursday night.
"He was a very, very special man," Dayvie said.
I didn't know him personally, but I feel the loss all the same.
ntodd
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