Herman Franklin Gillis, III

He will be missed by his loving family and all those who knew him in the airline industry and music world. Born on March 2, 1955, he was the son of Herman F. Gillis, Jr., and Mary Plemmons Gillis. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Monica Gillis Toth.

Herman's first love was flying. He started his flying career as a teenager for Asheville Flying Service. He worked at the Hendersonville, NC airport, and rather than receiving wages, he asked for flight time to grow his experience. For a time he worked with Marshall Flying Service, and was a crop duster in the area. Herman used to take his then girlfriend Brenda on dates by flying over the Hendersonville area in the two-seater Cessna planes.

During his lengthy career in the aviation industry, he flew planes big and small and traveled all over the world. His favorite was the 737. He worked for passenger airlines early in his career such as Wheeler, CC Air/US Air Express, American Hooters Air; he also worked for charter airlines such as Eastwind, Pace, Skylease, Dynamic, 21 Air. He spoke of the honor to carry college and professional basketball teams and hockey players to their playoff games, and rock stars to their tour dates. Safety was always his focus, and everyone who worked with him appreciated his dedication to the safety of the aircraft and flight crews.

In July of 2011, Herman had to put all the flying behind him to fight Multiple Myeloma and Plasma Cell Leukemia. When he began chemo treatment, he was no longer able to maintain his FAA medical certificate, so could no longer fly. Because of his talent and experience in the industry, he was able to transition from pilot to airline executive, and held several positions over the years in Operations and Training. when he ad to cease flying, he had accrued over 13,000 hours of flight time.

Herman also loved music. He played several different instruments through the years and performed with several bands including The Push band. He also served as the live sound engineer for many local and national artists of all genres when they toured through the area, most notably Bad Company, .38 Special, Kansas and the Entertainers. He truly could make any group sound wonderful.

He is survived by his wife Brenda; daughter Kelly Cutrone (John) and son Michael Gillis (Bridget); and eight grandchildren: Greyson Cutrone, Madison Cutrone, Charlie Cutrone, emily Cutrone, Aiden Gillis, Liam Gillis, Walker Gillis and June Gillis.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time, and will be listed here once the plans are completed.

The family wishes to express thanks to all those who provided the ultimate for care for him, both at Duke and at Atrium in Charlotte. Most recently, thank you to all the staff at Levine Cancer Institute and the staff at 4 Tower and 4 B, the oncology/hematology teams at CMC Main hospital. For all the years of his fight, we knew he was in the best possible care.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Myeloma Foundation for more research to cure Multiple Myeloma: Donate to IMF (myeloma.org)

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.McEwenPinevilleChapel.com for the Gillis family.