On September 7, 2019, Geoffrey Robert Gillette passed away at age 71 in Beach Haven, NJ. He cherished being at the shore where he vacationed since he was a child, so it was fitting that he would be there in his last days.
Geoff had a zeal for traveling and although he saw much of the world, he was mespecially fond of the Jersey Shore. He had great enthusiasm for surfing, sailing and just being in the salt air. Music was Geoff’s passion: singing, playing and making it. He was a world-class Studio recording/live sound and Mastering engineer. He was blessed to be able to work at a craft he loved wholeheartedly. Geoff had an infectious smile, an easy laugh and a knack for telling a good story.
Geoff is preceded in death by his parents, Phyllis and Bob. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, his sister Deborah Hennessy and her husband Richard, his niece, two nephews, their spouses and five great-nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held at 10:00 AM, October 5, 2019 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Main Street in Chatham. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Center of Hope Hospice, Scotch Plains, NJ.
Notes sent by Geoff’s friends:
This is a beautiful tribute Maralissa. Thank you.
Don Hynesdonhynes@cnnw.net
On Sep 17, 2019, at 9:52 AM, Maralissa Thomas <maralissat@gmail.com> wrote:
Like all of you, I’m still piecing together all the fond memories of time spent with Geoff. After college, our communication drifted as I moved to the East coast and he was trailblazing in the West. But then, in the mid-80s I made a trip with my daughter to CA to tour colleges she had here eye on (went on to get a scholarship from UCLA) and Rain and I were graciously invited to stay with the Duffy’s during that trip. Toward the end of the trip, it turned out the contractor working on the Duffy’s house wanted everyone to vacate for several days so he could refinish the floors, and offered his house in Cabo for all of us to stay. Well, I extended our stay and Geoff came along with the whole Duffy family, Rain and I, and we had an awesome vacation together. All the Mexico delights plus catching up on a decade. And that cemented a strong friendship that continued through the many years I lived in Santa Barbara afterward. I always new that Geoff would be surprising me again and again with invitations to hang out with him at the Santa Barbara studio to sit on recording sessions or the Santa Barbara jazz festival when he worked it. He got me hooked on some music I might never have found otherwise. His blood and sinew seemed to be music. And when I’d be in LA visiting my daughter, I’d give him a call and it was life as usual for him and we’d end up at a party to hang out with members of The Eagles and the like. I’d be star struck and this was everyday life for him. I recall in the 90s noticing a grammy on his wall and matter-of-factly he said it was for having worked on an Eva Cassidy album and flipped her music on the stereo. This kind man, a superb craftsman, traveled the world of masterful music a gazillion miles with his whole heart. RIP Geoff
On Sep 16, 2019, at 4:07 PM, Joseph Brennan <joebrennan@wildblue.net> wrote:
From: Joe Brennan <joebrennan@wildblue.net>
Subject:Re: Geoff Gillette Interview : Sean Kneese : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Geoff was such apart of my life it is totally surreal to think that he is gone. He offered me a space in his house to crash for about 10 years whenever I was working on a movie in LA after Donna and I moved to Santa Cruz. We shared many an adventure as well as a wealth of musical experiences. He will be sorely missed.My love goes out to you all my brothers and sisters on this life journey, Joe
From: “Kevin & Helena Daly” <multicon@comcast.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2019 11:06:47 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Geoff Gillette Interview : Sean Kneese : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Fond memory:
In 1968, my roommate Geoff, continually tried to teach me to sing…to no avail! He was quite the musician even then…obsessed (in a good way) with music and eager to share.
We had a lot of laughs over the years and I’m glad he was able to visit occasionally and to keep up our friendship.
Very sad to see him die so young. Leaves a bit of a hollow in our hearts.
Helena
On 9/12/2019 12:31 PM, mingus (Shawn Reynolds)wrote:
Hey,Don et al,Thanks for sharing that interview with Geoff. Last time I was in LA for the Siggraph (computer animation) convention he and I and Joan went out to dinner and a club and he talked about a lot of those things, especially his prejudice toward analog over digital recording. At least 10 music people came up to thank or praise him and chat. I felt like I was with a celebrity but his natural humility dismissed any of that. He will be sorely missed…
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Subject: Fwd: Geoff Gillette Interview : Sean Kneese : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Gus and I spoke after Geoff’s passing and he forwarded this interview of Geoff on his career in sound engineering and the music biz. I didn’t know the fine texture and breadth of Geoff’s career. The interview covers a long span of years and Geoff’s technical insights on the way recorded sound has changed. I found it brilliant and very worthwhile, especially to hear Geoff’s own voice.
With love,
Don
Begin forwarded message:
From: Gus Duffy <gusgda@pacbell.net>
Date: September 8, 2019 at 6:38:26 PM PDT
To:donhynes@cnnw.net
Subject:Geoff Gillette Interview : Sean Kneese : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Here’s that piece by GG
Now I’ll stop the barrage….
G
https://archive.org/details/GeoffGilletteInterview