EMILY ANN GILLEN

AMHERST, Emily Ann Gillen, 44, passed away peacefully at home on August 12, 2012 surrounded by loving family and friends.  Born in Cambridge, MA, Emily moved with her family to Amherst in 1969.  She is survived by her daughter, Beatrice (Bebe) Ballou, her parents, Bill and Connie Gillen, and her two brothers, Pat Gillen and wife Cyndy of Belchertown, their sons Vincent, Dylan, and Vaughn, and Sam Gillen and wife Libby of Chicago and their daughter Gigi and son Theo.  She also leaves her sweet dog Luna and countless friends and acquaintances who have been touched by her beauty, wisdom, and grace.

Emily attended Amherst public schools, but graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in 1985.  She attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a BA in Anthropology in 1989. She later returned to UMass, receiving her MA in Anthropology in 2000 and her PhD in Hispanic Literature and Linguistics in 2002. From 2001 to 2003, she was Language Director in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UMass and, from 2003, Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.  Emily was a sensitive fieldworker and tireless educator, particularly at the intersection of technology and language learning.

Emily’s academic profile was only one aspect of a woman who was, above all, a citizen of the world.  She travelled widely, including a long stay in Finland in 1982 through the Rotary Exchange Program, a sojourn to Australia, and many professional visits across Spain and Mexico. Most recently, she took an interest in the healing arts, meditation and yoga and was training to be certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. It was within these endeavors that Emily found inner peace, enriched wisdom and strength. During her final months at home in Amherst these were the gifts she gave to her family and friends. The warmth and love that emanated from Emily was the light that pulled all her loved ones through.

Emily was a talented and enthusiastic dancer, having attended Harvard’s Summer Dance Program in 1983 and never missing an opportunity to dance and embrace a melody.  She was a grounded, practical-minded person whose sense of humor was contagious and whose lack of pretention opened many hearts.  Her love of the sea was cultivated at her family’s home in Chatham, MA; her love of nature took her into the wild throughout her life.  Like many of the flowers to be found at her family’s Amherst farm, she was a strong and spirited source of beauty to all who knew her, perennially abloom in her all too shortened life.

Most of all, Emily was a loving and devoted mother to her daughter Bebe, who was a source of joy and wonder to her.  For the past 11 years, Bebe’s well-being has been front and center to all her choices.  Their bond is her special gift to Bebe.

A memorial celebration will be held on August 25 at 4pm at Amherst College’s Alumni House, 76 Churchill Street, in Amherst. A reception with food, music, and remembrance will follow immediately at Sunset Farm, 20 Brigham Lane.

A fund has been created for Bebe’s education.  Donations may be made to Bright Directions, P. O. Box 82623, Lincoln, NE 68501. Please specify the beneficiary’s name in full as “Beatrice E. Ballou”.  Donations may also be made to Cancer Connection, 41 Locust Street, Northampton, MA 01060.

   Full service details, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow and sharing features are available here.