Obituary of Sean Michael Gillespie

Gillespie, Sean Michael

Passed away after a courageous battle with T-PLL, a form of Leukemia, on Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, at the age of 59. Devoted husband of Shelley. Dearly remembered by his parents, Brian and Judy Gillespie, and in-laws, Alfred and Judy. Cherished father of Jillian and Emily. He is survived by his siblings Geoff (Kim) and Tim, as well as in-laws Ted (Marnie) and Kristie, and forever remembered by nieces and nephews Ethan, Olivia, Cooper, Easton (d. 2023), Tytan, Reid, Georgia, Spencer and Chloe and close friends, John Dunn, Scott Dunn, John Dunn Jr, Dave (Gail) Howie, and Joe (Laurie) Montavani.

Sean loved hockey, playing from age five into his later adulthood. He played in travel teams and house leagues, coached for a few years, and refereed for fifteen. He played with his father, brothers, and friends on a different team every year.

Sean was an innovator for race cars and the places he raced. He started racing with Enduros at Humberstone Speedway and eventually found himself at Perry Speedway. There, he earned the name ‘Mr. Excitement’ and won several track championships and ‘Best Appearing Car.’ He also raced IMCA modified for a few years. His love for fixing and putting things back came in handy as he raced out of Bob’s Shop and began building his own cars, sharing his knowledge with those around him.

Sean was an essential member of the Welland County Motorcycle Club. He joined on May 28th, 2014, and ever since then, has been a massive supporter of the club. He started doing whatever help he could around the track, then became a board member, secretary, race director, and president for an unprecedented six years. If you were ever looking for him, you could find him many afternoons, out on the lawn cutting grass and pointing out things that needed to be addressed before race day. His never-give-up attitude affected all who served on the Board with him. He constantly looked out for the well-being of others during his terms as president, even if members were not always on board with his decisions - he always found a way to smooth them out.

You should count yourself lucky if you have ever tasted one of Sean’s New York-style cheesecakes he made for family gatherings. He is known for his many, many motorcycles. Sean loved camping, especially with his girls. His favourite spot being Allegany State Park; looking forward to the week-long trip there all year, and even planning next year’s trip right after leaving. You would often find him at home on the couch watching Turner Classic Movies, Colombo or whatever hockey or football game was on that night. If you ever needed to know the most obscure facts, of those including niche and classic actors, exact motorcycle or car sounds from the exhaust, anything music-related, he had a plethora.

And above all else, he was an incredible person. He was always willing to help, loan out a tool he had, fix something, etc. He always put his family before himself, always working very hard to ensure they were happy. He was always full of love and laughter, cracking his jokes at anyone who would listen. Sean was incredibly creative and skillful, always willing to learn something new. Sean’s sense of humour and conversational talents will be missed by all who knew him, as anyone can attest to his amazing ability to talk about nearly everything. He will be missed very dearly.

His family would like to extend an incredible thank you to his team of oncologists at Walker, Dr. Linda Lee and Dr. Huma Qwai, hematologists at Juravinski, Dr. Kylie Lepic, and the outstanding nursing staff from both hospitals and the ICU.

Visitation will be held at Benner Funeral Home (1105 Benner Ave, Fort Erie, ON) on Friday, June 27th, 2025, from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm.

A celebration of life will be held at Welland County Motorcycle Club (603 Netherby Rd, Welland, ON) on Saturday, August 16th, 2025, time to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (the Leukemia and Lymphoma program)