Ernest James Gill

Ernie was born January 30, 1928, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, the son of Rudolph and Violet Gill. He is survived by his sister, Ethyl (Jim) Mills and several nieces and nephews, all of Canada. He was preceded in death by his parents, Violet and Rudolph Gill; his sister, Fern Slingerland; and his brother, William Gill.

Ernie grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. In high school, he won the highest award possible from the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association for his marksmanship. After school, he farmed, worked in the steel industry drilling I-beams for construction, and was a firefighter and lumberjack in British Columbia.

Ernie came to the United States in 1960. He went to Fullerton Junior College and the International Tabulating Institute, both in California, to train in data processing. He began working for State Farm Insurance in southern California in 1963 and came to Bloomington as one of State Farm’s first data processing analysts in 1967. He retired from State Farm as a systems analyst in 1993.

Ernie enjoyed stamp and coin collecting and loved bowling and playing golf. He was a member of a bowling league from 1963 until he passed away and played golf weekly with his golf group. An avid fan of Illinois State University women’s sports, he held season tickets for volleyball and basketball and was often in the stands. Ernie loved to travel and drove all over the United States and visited his family annually in Canada. He was a car enthusiast and avidly read car magazines. One of the last things he did before he passed away was decide which new sporty car he should buy next.

Ernie enjoyed life and people and loved a good time and a laugh. He had many friends and touched many lives in Bloomington. He will be missed by all of them.

His visitation is Thursday, August 20 from 4 to 5 pm at East Lawn Funeral Home, 1102 Airport Road, Bloomington. A service celebrating his life will begin at 5 pm. Please join us for the service and feel free to bring a memory to share. If you knew Ernie, you know he would love to hear his colleagues and friends telling stories and sharing each other’s company.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 4234 N Knoxville, Peoria, 61614, 309-688-3488.