Cumberland County’s final warden dies
The man who was the last warden in Cumberland County history has died.
Allison Gillis passed away unexpectantly at his Pugwash home on Feb. 18. He was 77.
Gillis was elected Cumberland County’s warden in November 2016. It would be several years later that the municipality opted to elect a mayor at large as part of its electoral reform plans that saw the size of council reduced to eight members from 14.
“Our former CAO Rennie Bugley described Allison best as a statesman and that’s the kind of person he was,” Cumberland County Mayor Murray Scott said.
“I had some discussions with Al before I made my decision to run for mayor and he was very supportive. He was always a gentleman and Cumberland County and Pugwash, in particular, meant so much to him.”
Gillis was first elected to municipal council in 2008, defeating the late Kathy Langille in District 4. He was re-elected by acclamation in 2012 and 2016 before announcing in the middle of 2020 that he would not be seeking re-election in the 2020 election.
“Under his leadership there were a lot of great things that happened or got their start,” Scott said. “One of those was the increased collaboration between Cumberland and Colchester on the high-speed internet project and the geopark. And we recently just finalized the sale of the landfill in Little Forks. That’s something else that started under Allison’s guidance as warden.”
John Kellegrew represented District 1 on municipal council for many years and sat next to Gillis during council meetings.
“It’s really sad to learn about his passing,” Kellegrew said. “He really was a great guy and a great county councillor. He cared a lot about Cumberland County and Pugwash was a big part of his heart, things like HarbourFest and the Gathering of the Clans.”
Kellegrew said the two became friends outside of council and their wives also became close.
“We had a lot of fun times together,” Kellegrew said. “We were very close and I’m going to miss him.”
Gillis was a sports enthusiast, who played baseball and basketball as a teen and badminton, golf and curling as an adult. He was an avid Toronto Blue Jays fan and loved harness racing. Music was also a big part of his life with his deep baritone voice serving as a distinctive part of the United Church choir.
“We’re certainly going to miss him at our church. He was a mainstay of our choir,” said Roger Mundle, who is a village commissioner in Pugwash. “He had a wonderful bass voice. As our choir got smaller, he became our lead hand.”
A graduate of Acadia University and Mount Allison University, Gillis briefly taught history in Chester before joining the staff at the interprovincial school for the deaf in Amherst and later the family business, Gillis’ Family Clothing and Footwear, before retiring in the late 1990s.
His obituary says his passion for community service was influenced by his early connection with the first Pugwash Conference hosted in the village in 1957. His parents, Mark and Jean Gillis, hosted some of the delegates in their home.
“I had some discussions with Al before I made my decision to run for mayor and he was very supportive. He was always a gentleman and Cumberland County and Pugwash, in particular, meant so much to him.”
Murray Scott
Cumberland County mayor