Roger Gillespie passed away Sunday night January 21st with his wife of 55 years by his side. Mr. Gillespie was born in Hamilton, Ohio on October 6, 1946. He lived in Ohio until 1966 when he entered the Army. He met his wife, Myrna Malone, in Atlanta in 1968 while she was in nursing school. Roger was honorably discharged from the Army in 1968 and began his printing career working for Bank Building Corporation in Atlanta. He went on to own his own printing business, The Printing Place, in East Point, GA, and later sold the business so he could teach printing.

Mr. Gillespie sold printing franchises for Ben Franklin Printing in Georgia and after moving to Florida in 1986. During that time the family moved to Tampa, Florida where they lived until Myrna and Roger returned to Dexter, GA in 2014. After moving to Dexter, the couple purchased a house in Dexter and made it into a café — Tea, Toast, & Things. He loved meeting people and making deliveries for the café. Mr. Gillespie loved to fish and was an excellent carpenter. He constantly had a project going around the house. He loved his family and especially his four grandsons.

Mr. Gillespie was proceeded in death by Howard Gillespie, father; Louise Gillespie, stepmother; Oscar Hicks, brother; Edward Gillespie, brother; Nancy Gillespie, sister; Roger Allen Gillespie II, son.

He is survived by his wife Myrna Malone Gillespie of Dexter, GA; his daughter Casey Gillespie (Philip McDougall, husband) of Corte Madera, CA; his son Brandon Gillespie (Danielle Gillespie, wife) and his children, William Adam Gillespie, Holden Matthew Gillespie and Calvin Tyler Gillespie of Tampa, FL; his grandson Tyler Gillespie of Tampa, FL; and his nephew Jeff Hicks (Laura Hicks, wife) of Hamilton, OH.

Services will be held Friday, January 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM in the chapel of Townsend Brothers Funeral Home. Rev. Rudy Brown will be officiating. Interment will follow at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery.

Please visit www.townsendfuneralhome.com to sign the online memorial register.