Robert “John” Gill 1955 – 2024
John passed away at home the morning of May 26, 2024 with his loving wife of 38 years, Mary, at his side. John fought a courageous battle with small-cell carcinoma for two years.
John was born in Galveston, TX on March 3, 1955 to Robert Hugh Gill and Patricia O’Brien Gill. He grew up in La Marque and attended La Marque High School. He participated in cross country, choir and diving. Then he got bit with the music bug and started playing in a rock band called Elijah Foxx with 3 of his classmates. After graduating he attended North Texas State College (now UNT) where he studied many subjects including accounting and French. While in college he also made coffee shop appearances singing and playing guitar as part of a duo.
John’s love of music resulted in the pursuit of a career in the arts by first owning a recording studio (Magic Rat Studio). After that he photographed bands and musicians, both classical and rock under the name of “John Gill Productions”. His revolutionary ways of staging backdrops and overlaying band and artist names on the promo photos made him a sought after entertainment photographer.
During one photography session for the North Houston Dance Theatre he was recruited by them. Diving deep into this new experience, he went on to play the lead role in the ballet, Coppélia, and both King Rat and Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. He also performed modern dance and jazz with the American Academy of Dance – Houston.
He married harpist Mary Radspinner in 1986 and they made their home in Cypress, TX. During that time John worked as a warehouse manager, did renovations on their house, and earned his private pilot license. In 1993 John and Mary opened a unique harp specialty store called Melody’s Traditional Music. The store was named after their beloved Afghan Hound, Melody.
John became the premier harp repairman in the state of Texas. His accounting training made him an outstanding store owner. He handled inventory, ordering, and all store details. He made friends with everybody, and especially enjoyed speaking with vendors, one of whom said, “it was always a pleasure to call Melody’s and get to talk to John. I can’t think of very many people who have left such a wonderful legacy.”
The store went on to become a world-class seller of print music for the harp. A secondary publishing business grew. John packed many a box of hundreds of titles which shipped throughout the US, Europe and Australia. He was a favorite of many harpists with his patience. He tied string knots and showed infinite patience to computer challenged individuals.
John (and Mary) devoted time to the rescue of Afghan Hounds and Golden Retrievers. They fostered and foster-failed many. In addition to Melody, he would want us to remember Mastafha, Einstein, Andy, Hank, Sir Flounder, Harry, Mendelssohn and Joey who no doubt joyfully greeted him on May 26.
Over the past 15 years, John reunited with high school friends to play guitar, bass guitar, and sing in a classic rock band called "Whiskey In The Decaf." He also took up the cello, achieving Suzuki Level 5.
John was loved by many people because of his honesty, friendliness, and ability to converse on many topics. He was truly a gem who fell into the harp “fishbowl” and he embraced every minute of it. He will be greatly missed. Before his death, John acquired an extraordinary peace of mind when on April 1, Nick and Sue Pickus took over the ownership of Melody’s.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Patricia Gill. He is survived by his wife, Mary Radspinner, sisters Leslie Gill Biesiadecki, Linda Gill Johnson (David), brother James Paul Gill (Dana), nieces, nephews, many friends, colleagues and customers.
Thank you to all the wonderful caregivers who tended to John during the course of his illness. Special thanks to Steve Cole for his enduring friendship over the years.
A celebration service was scheduled on June 23, 2024, at Brookside Funeral Home Cypress Creek, 9149 Hwy 6 N, Houston, TX 77095.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the John Gill Memorial Harp Scholarship Fund https://www.gulfcoastharpers.com/donation-page/ or to Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue https://gbgrr.org/donate/
