Dr. Gilfillan Obituary (1918 - 2007)

AUGUSTA - Dr. Lewis Smith Gilfillan, 88, died Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007 at the Maine Veterans Home in Augusta after a long illness. Dr. Gilfillan was born December 24, 1918 in Skowhegan to the late James and Edith (Nutting) Gilfillan. He and his family lived in Bar Harbor where he graduated from Mount Desert High School. Dr. Gilfillan received his undergraduate and DMD degree from Tufts University in 1940. He completed his internship and residency in oral surgery at the University Of Cincinnati Hospitals in Ohio. He joined the Public Health Service and served the Coast Guard during World War II. Stationed in San Francisco, he was assigned to the U.S. Navy ship, the General H B Freeman, which sailed the Pacific, and attained the rank of Senior Assistant/Dental Surgeon. Dr. Gilfillan returned to Maine after his honorable discharge from the Coast Guard on August 12, 1946, and began his career as an oral surgeon, first in Portland and later in Augusta where he opened his private practice. During this time he was also involved in establishing and subsequently teaching at the Dental Hygienist Program at Westbrook Junior College. In addition to practicing at the VA Hospital at Togus, he had a clinical appointment from Harvard University Dental School to teach their dental students and residents at Togus. After he retired from dentistry in 1986, he continued to enjoy his love of the outdoors by working in his garden, tending his fruit trees, boating, fishing and cross-country skiing at his home in Sidney. Dr. Gilfillan was a member of the South Parish Congregational Church of Augusta and the Masonic Lodge, also of Augusta. He had been active in the Augusta Country Club and the Kiwanis Club of Augusta. He was also a member of the American Dental Assoc., the Maine Dental Assoc. and the Kennebec Valley Dental Society. The family wishes to thank the very dedicated and skilled staff at the Maine Veterans Home for their compassion, care, and support. Dr. Gilfillan is survived by his wife, Wanda Womack Gilfillan, of Augusta; his son, William L. Gilfillan, his wife, Christine, and their daughter, Kathleen Connelly, all of Brewer; his daughter, Dr. Carol A. Gilfillan, her husband, Dr. Joseph E. Simon, of Amelia Island, FL, and their children, Jennifer A. Simon & husband, James Shilkett, of Chicago, IL and Eric J. Simon of Stanford, CA; a brother, Robert Gilfillan & wife, Barbara, of Bar Harbor; and three nieces, a nephew and their families. A celebration of Dr. Gilfillan?s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the South Parish Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, with Rev. Bruce Forbes and Pastor Richard Kimball, of the Sixth Street Congregational Church in New Auburn, officiating. A private interment will be held at the new Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Mount Vernon Road in Augusta. Donations in memory of Dr. Gilfillan may be made to the Maine Veterans? Home Activity Fund, 310 Cony Road, Augusta, ME 04330. Arrangements are in the care of Knowlton & Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Service, One Church St., Augusta.