Benjamin Gerard Gillies (1976-2016)

My brother Ben died on August 25 after being seriously ill for most of the summer. I got the news that life supporting measures were no longer helping while I was in Germany and was able to get back to Denver to be with him, his partner, and family at the end. He was just 40 years old.

Ben was a bookseller, he worked at the Hungry Minds (later, Ruminator) and Subtext bookstores in St. Paul, Minnesota and in 2015 opened a store, City Stacks, on Denver's Wazee Street. City Stacks had a memorial on September 2nd. If you've come to this page via a search for news about Ben, I recommend going to that Facebook page. I was touched by the kind words of his friends and customers.

Ben was in the bookselling business to be close to the things he loved most: books and readers. I don't think there is any aspect of the trade, from printing to distribution to customer service, that he didn't appreciate and enjoy. I'm sorry he didn't get to keep selling, trading, and talking about books any longer.

Bye, Ben. I love you. Rest in peace.