John Walsh Gilman

John Walsh Gilman, 79, of Kalamazoo, passed away on March 20, 2026. Born in Kalamazoo on December 14, 1946, he was the son of Ernest John and Mary (Walsh) Gilman. John was a graduate of University High School in Kalamazoo.

He earned a B.A. in Pre-Law and Political Science from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Georgia.

John dedicated more than three decades to the Metro Atlanta Chamber, rising to Vice President in the Economic Development Department, where he led corporate recruitment and complex site-selection efforts and developed the tools and reporting systems to track results. Many of the Fortune 500 companies that define Atlanta’s skyline are there because John Gilman worked to recruit them. Earlier in his career, he served the City of Atlanta in workforce and job development roles, including as the first full-time executive director of the city’s Private Industry Council workforce development and training program under Mayor Maynard Jackson. During his storied career, John especially took notice of opportunities to mentor and raise up young professionals, many of whom moved on to key leadership roles thanks in no doubt to John’s influence.

John’s commitment to community ran just as deep. He served on the City of Atlanta Workforce Development Agency board of directors for more than a decade and spent years advising Georgia Quick Start, a statewide program providing customized workforce training for qualifying businesses. He also founded and co-chaired a Metro Atlanta Chamber staff-led partnership with Price Middle School — one of the lowest-performing and most disadvantaged schools in the state — that spanned more than twenty years. Through that partnership, John and his colleagues organized tutoring, test preparation, career days, science fair judging, library donations, field trips, and an annual luncheon honoring educators, bringing sustained attention and resources to students who needed them most. John also routinely led teams of volunteers to work on beautification and maintenance projects for the school as he wanted students to have the best possible environment.

John’s impact is untold and his legacy lives on through the countless lives he help shape over the years.

Beyond his professional life, John was an avid sports fan — especially Michigan football — and a dedicated and credentialed volunteer photographer for university athletics. His work for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association and the University of Michigan Athletic Media Relations appeared in university publications and supported student-athletes and programs, often rivaling and surpassing the work of leading professionals at major newspapers and magazines. One of John’s greatest joys was capturing the perfect sports shot or a portrait of a family member or dear friend.

John is survived by his sister, Jane Gilman (Jeff) Miller; his brother, Richard H. Gilman; a niece and a nephew; and many friends in Georgia, Michigan, and beyond. He was preceded in death by his parents.