A Hillsdale County man and husband of a Hillsdale College employee was killed in a single-car crash yesterday morning on a road near Hillsdale. Brian Gillette, 67, of Osseo, Michigan, was the husband of Claudia Gillette, aide to the athletic director of Hillsdale College.
Gillette was a retiree of Hillsdale Tool, and is survived by three children, Megan Pauken, Matt Gillette, and Michael Gillette, and one grandchild, Elliot Pauken. Yesterday was Gillette’s birthday.
“He was just a very loving man. He was a wonderful man. We know he’s gone to heaven,” Claudia Gillette said last night. “We appreciate everyone’s prayers. Our Hillsdale College family means the world to our family.”
Gillette was driving a 2006 Chevy Equinox eastbound on Reading Road near Foust Road just after 9 a.m. when he lost control, drove off the road, and struck a tree, according to a Michigan State Police press release sent last night to the Collegian by Lt. Mardella Horhn. Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched to the scene.
Gillette was wearing his seatbelt according to police and pronounced dead at the scene. Yesterday, moderate amounts of snow fell throughout the area and some roads were slippery.
Many in the athletic department grieve the Gillette family’s loss.
“They are such a part of the Charger family and our heart hurts for them,” Head Women’s Tennis Coach Nicole Walbright said last night.
The Hillsdale Rural Fire Department, the Woodbridge Township Fire Department, the Reading Township Fire Department, and the Reading Emergency Unit also responded.
“Remind everyone that you love them so much,” Walbright said. “Claudia means so much to everyone in the athletic department. We’re here for her in this time.”
The incident is still under investigation, the state police report said.
