Donald H Gillis, 90 of Pleasant Ridge, MI. Beloved husband and father passed away on October 21st, 2020. He was born on July 8, 1930, in Philadelphia, PA. He was a graduate of Kenyon College in 1951 B.A., Philosophy, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He then attended Pembroke College of Oxford University (England) on a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship, from 1951-1952 where he continued his study in Philosophy. Returning from Oxford he attended the New York University School of Law, graduating in 1955, where to this day, he is still the only non-interviewed recipient of the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship. He was also a recipient of the W. Paul Stillman Prize for best first year law note. Between 1955-1957 he was called to serve in the U.S. Navy, during the nation’s only peace-time draft, he served aboard the USS Caperton (DD-650) and became an honor graduate of the U.S. Naval School of Justice. In 1958 at the behest of his best friend and law school roommate John Katsoulos, he moved to Michigan. At that time, he met his wife to be, Catherine Greig of Grosse Pointe Park. He and Mr. Katsoulos would begin a law practice of their own, “Katsoulos & Gillis”. Their law practice would endure for 30 years, and they remained best of friends until the passing of Mr. Katsoulos in 2018. By 1970 he had a well-established practice with clients in both corporate and estate planning law. However, later in his career he would add cable and telecommunications law to his portfolio and become a pioneer in that field. He was General Counsel to the Intergovernmental Cable Communications Authority from 1981-1999 and traveled the country as a keynote speaker on the subject of cable law. Additionally, he was City Attorney for the City of Pleasant Ridge between 1972-1999. In 1990 he became Of Counsel to the Kemp Klein Law Firm where he had maintained an office until 2017. He had been a member of the Pennsylvania State Bar, and in 2008 he was honored as a 50-year member of the State Bar of Michigan. He was an avid golfer, lover of fashion and fine dining. His greatest interest of all was reading, at its peak, his personal library contained an estimated 10,000 hardback books. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Catherine (Greig) Gillis, his sons Laurence, James (Mazy), David (Annette), and his grandchildren Maxwell and James. He is preceded in death by his parents Maxwell and Laura and his brother Richard. He will be laid to rest at Oakview Cemetery, in Royal Oak, MI in a private ceremony. Remembrances can be made to the NYU School of Law; Root-Tilden-Kern Fund ~Lovingly Submitted by the Family~