Jim was educated in the Kansas City Kansas public school system, having started at Roosevelt Grade School in 1939, transferring to Mark Twain Grade School in January, and graduating from there in 1947 in what may have been one of the most outstanding classes in the school's history (over half earned advanced degrees and an equal number became millionaires!).

In 1951 he graduated from Wyandotte High School as 10th/400      
in the class (4th boy) with a full Summerfield Scholarship to the
University of Kansas. The Summerfield was a state-wide
competition in which Wyandotte had a record 5 of 13 finalists
(3 from Mark Twain!). In 1955 he graduated cum laude
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry (with Honors)
and attended the University of California at Berkeley where
he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1962.

He completed his education with a post-doctoral appointment in the Department of Entomology and Parasitology at UC-Berkeley, where he was introduced to the toxicology of pesticides and hazardous materials, the central focus of his professional life, under the direction of Drs. William Hoskins and John Casida.

Upon graduation from K.U. his deferred 2S draft status lapsed, but when drafted he was re-classified 4F due to residual injury from polio (1940). Interestingly, he was among the first patients in the U.S. receiving treatment by the Sister Kenny method (hot compresses, vigorous daily massage and exercise routines) which contrasted sharply with the accepted practice of putting a child in braces (so that the muscles completely atrophied). [This conflict was central to the movie "Sister Kenny" starring Rosalind Russell (which earned her a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for the 1946 film)].

Jim held teaching and research positions at Oregon State University [Corvallis, OR] (1964-1973) in Agricultural Chemistry, where he was promoted to Associate Professor, and at Cornell University in Natural Resources (1983-2006), where he was promoted to full Professor with tenure until his retirement. Until his death, he remained active as a Professor Emeritus.

Between 1974-1983 he was a senior Terrestrial Ecologist and Environmental Scientist at the US Environmental Protection Agency's National Ecology Research Laboratory in Corvallis, OR., where he made significant contributions to the methods for evaluating safety of pesticides and toxic substances. While at Cornell, where he became the first Professor of Ecotoxicology in the U.S., he was Director of the Environmental Toxicology program (1986-92) and the Superfund Basic Research & Education program (1992-2001).

He produced over 80 peer-reviewed publications, two books, and numerous reports. He chaired several national committees on environmental issues and served a term on the President's Scientific Advisory Board for Biotechnology. He consulted for many groups, agencies, and corporations on a wide range of topics, but most notably worked pro bono for local communities faced with monumental clean-up issues. He was among the first to teach courses in ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment and to develop mathematical models evaluating exposure of multiple species to pesticides (e.g., DDT and dieldrin) and industrial products such as PCBs. His "Pre-biologic Screen" proved to be a highly useful tool in quickly sorting through tens of thousands of untested chemicals in the early stages of the development of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for those requiring either research or regulation.

In 1958 Jim married Mary Alexia Stuart (1935-2009) and had two sons, John Stuart (aka Jon Smeltzer) born in Oakland, CA in 1963 and Peter Warren (aka Pete Smeltzer) born in Corvallis, OR in 1964. Mary A. and Jim were divorced in 1969.

In 1970 Jim married Mary Francis (Hebert) Goerz, who has a son Donald William Goerz (b. 1965) in Eugene, OR. They had two more sons, Grant Jameson (b. 1972) and Iain Michael (b. 1975), both born in Corvallis, OR. In both Corvallis and Ithaca, NY, where the family moved in 1983, Mary F. was the pillar for all and sundry, being a room mother/den mother/mother confessor for the boys and their friends, in spite of having developed multiple sclerosis.

In 1995 Jim was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus [same as his mother Atha (Morlan) Gillett] and in 1999 with high grade dysplasia, a pre-cancerous state. It took almost 2 yrs before any insurance could be induced to cover treatments (they were mostly experimental), at which point he volunteered for a clinical trial of a new drug at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (at the time of Jim's death he was the longest-lived and oldest survivor of that trial). Since esophageal cancer has a very high mortality rate (even 40% of those with high grade dysplasia die within 24 mos. of diagnosis), he worked with others in an on-line forum to create the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Assn. Subsequently he worked with the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration in their programs of Patient Representatives and advocates to involve patients more successfully in their own treatment.

Environmental issues were important to Jim's life from the early years, when he became an avid birdwatcher and an active Boy Scout; he earned the God & Country Award in 1950 and his Eagle in 1951. However, his adult life involved more varied efforts as advisor to student groups. In 1965 he began working as an asst. soccer coach to the Oregon State Soccer Club and served as coach, teacher and administrator during this development stage of soccer for boys and girls and men and women in that state over the next 20 yrs. At Cornell he coached the men's freshman team. Later health issues limited outdoor activities to fishing, but birdwatching remained excellent on their 6.75-ac property (with pond).

Curiously, Jim was the last of his four siblings to retire, in spite of being the eldest. This provided an excellent opportunity for a memorable get-together in Ithaca "high above Cayuga's waters." Several thousand dollars were raised on behalf of ECAA in lieu of gifts as Jim was toasted and roasted by students, friends and colleagues. Cornell does a marvelous job of taking care of its faculty and students (in the top three in the country on most measures of benefits), but it is the collegiality that continues to grow. Until his death, Jim lunched every Friday with a group of retired professors from various fields, some with distinguished standing (e.g., Nobel Prizes, other major awards), in what one might call a "Coven of Aspiring Polymaths," to discuss whatever topic someone wanted considered. That could range from a chapter in a book, to the title for a new field of research, or to how to manage one's own library collection. He found those lunches a great reward!

Jim was active, even attending high school and grade school reunions in May 2011, until a MRSA (staph) infection in his knee got into his bloodstream and reached a weak heart valve, resulting in his death on June 20, 2011. Below is the obituary printed in Cornell's CHRONICLE ONLINE:

June 30, 2011
James Gillett, pioneer of ecotoxicology, dies at age 77
By Stacey Shackford

James W. Gillett, professor emeritus in the Department of Natural Resources, died June 20 in Ithaca from various health complications. He was 77.

Gillett, who joined the Cornell faculty in 1983 and became emeritus in 2006, was the first professor of ecotoxicology in the United States. He was among the first to teach courses in ecological risk assessment and to develop mathematical models evaluating exposure of multiple species to such pesticides as DDT and such industrial products as PCBs.

He served as director of Cornell's Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology from 1986 to 1992, established a risk analysis studies program within the graduate field of environmental toxicology and created a new minor field for risk analysis, communications and policy.

Gillett also oversaw the Superfund Basic Research and Education Program from 1992 to 2001. In that role, he focused on identifying and reducing hazards and chronic exposure from low-level hazardous substances from Superfund sites, on both human health and the environment.

He was affiliated with the American Indian Program, and one of his projects was to develop a more holistic approach to address the adverse effects of dietary pollutants on Native populations. In particular, he worked with the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation, which is on the Canadian border downstream from a set of heavily contaminated Superfund sites.

Born in Kansas, Gillett received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Kansas (1955) and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California-Berkeley (1962). After serving as an assistant and associate professor at Oregon State University in agricultural chemistry (1964-73), he worked as a senior terrestrial ecologist and environmental scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Ecology Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Ore. (1974-83), where he made significant contributions to the methods for evaluating the safety of pesticides and toxic substances.

He produced more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, two books and numerous reports. He chaired several national committees on environmental issues and served a term on the President's Scientific Advisory Board for Biotechnology. He also consulted for local communities faced with monumental cleanup issues.

A survivor of esophageal cancer, Gillett founded the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association and worked with the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration in their patient representative and advocate programs.

Gillett also served as chair of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Senate for several years and remained active at the college after his retirement.

"Jim had an amazing wealth of knowledge on the toxicology of chemicals and great compassion for those affected by chemical exposures," said Suzanne Snedeker, graduate field member in environmental toxicology and visiting fellow at Cornell. "His level of energy was amazing, whether it was developing or reviewing scientific reports, expressing his views at Faculty Senate meetings, mentoring students, supporting other cancer survivors, or even giving campus directions to parents on moving in day for Cornell freshmen. He exemplified a life devoted to Cornell."

A campus memorial service is being planning for the fall.

                Stacey Shackford is a staff writer in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  

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