Dean Milton Gillespie (May 3, 1884 – February 2, 1949) was an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1944 to 1947.

Dean M. Gillespie
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 1st district
In office
March 7, 1944 – January 3, 1947
Preceded byLawrence Lewis
Succeeded byJohn A. Carroll
Personal details
Born
Dean Milton Gillespie

(1884-05-03)May 3, 1884
Salina, Kansas
DiedFebruary 2, 1949(1949-02-02) (aged 64)
Baltimore, Maryland
CommitteesAppropriations, Treasury, Post Office, State, Justice, and Commerce.[1]

Early life and education

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Born in Salina, Kansas, the youngest son of Dr. D. M. Gillespie and Mrs. D. M. Gillespie of Blaine Township, Clay County, Kansas.[2] His father has been a pioneer of Kansas and was a physician.[1] He also published a temperance newspaper entitled, The Rising Sun.[2]

Gillespie attended the public schools and Salina Normal University. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and cattle raising in Clay County, Kansas, from 1900 to 1904.[3]

Career

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He moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1905 and worked as grocery clerk, sign painter, and salesman. He engaged in the automobile and oil business since 1905.[3] Gillespie founded Power Equipment Company and incorporated under the corporate laws of Colorado on September 14, 1936. Operations were initially conducted through two affiliated corporations, Power Equipment Co. and Dean Gillespie & Co., which firms controlled the franchises for Allis-Chalmers Construction Equipment and White Motor trucks.[3]

Gillespie was elected as a Republican to the 78th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lawrence Lewis, reelected to the 79th Congress, and served from March 7, 1944, to January 3, 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to the 80th Congress.[3]

He then returned to his former business pursuits.[3] He was president of Dean Gillespie & Company, president of Motoroyal Oil Company, and vice president of BluHill Food Corporation.[1] He was an Elk, Mason, Shriner and a member of a number organizations.[1]

Personal life

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He married Lillie Baldwin on January 29, 1908, in Golden, Colorado.[2] They had two daughters. One of his daughters, Ruth Gillespie, was an attorney in Denver. Lillie died in 1941.[4]

He had the world's largest collection of meteorites and often gave talks about meteorites.[4]

Death and burial

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He checked himself into Johns Hopkins Hospital while on a business trip and died of a heart attack on February 2, 1949, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was interred in Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.[3][4]

Electoral history

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1944 United States House of Representatives special election, Colorado's 1st district[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dean M. Gillespie 41,319 51.55%
Democratic Carl E. Wuertele 38,394 47.90%
Socialist Edgar P. Sherman 230 0.29%
Independent George M. Phillips 160 0.20%
Liberal Frank H. Rice 51 0.06%
Majority 2,925 3.65%
Total votes 80,154 100%
Republican gain from Democratic
1944 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district (general)[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dean M. Gillespie (incumbent) 90,151 51.75%
Democratic Charles A. Graham 83,253 47.79%
Socialist Edgar P. Sherman 798 0.46%
Majority 6,898 3.96%
Total votes 174,202 100%
Republican hold
1946 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John A. Carroll 60,513 51.75%
Republican Dean M. Gillespie (incumbent) 55,724 47.66%
Socialist Edgar P. Sherman 691 0.59%
Majority 4,789 4.09%
Total votes 116,928 100%
Democratic gain from Republican

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Congress, United States (1949). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 80language=en.
  2. ^ a b c "Former Salina Boy Married". The Salina Daily Union. February 24, 1908. p. 4. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f
  4. ^ a b c "Obituary for DEAN M. GILLESPIE". The Windsor Beacon. February 10, 1949. p. 8. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "CO - District 01 - History". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Compiled from official sources by William Graf under direction of South Trimble. March 1, 1945. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Compiled from official sources by William Graf under direction of John Andrews. February 1, 1947. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 1st congressional district

March 7, 1944 - January 3, 1947
Succeeded by