Humbly written by Ryan Byrne on 5/15/26 in tribute to Rodney James Gillis (January 13, 1961 – April 18, 2026): On April 18th, 2026, we lost a dear friend, Rod Gillis. Rod had moved here to Gorham, NH from Colorado Springs, CO a few short years before his passing. I first met Rod and his wife Wendy when they were new to town and were walking past our shop. We struck up a conversation about old cars (perhaps my dad’s 1940 Chevy was parked in our lot – that is always a conversation starter for passersby that are into antique cars), and Rod mentioned that he was going to have his 1951 Buick Roadmaster shipped to Gorham from Colorado Springs. He was looking for a garage to service it, and wanted to bring it to a garage that was no stranger to old cars. Our conversation eventually veered towards Chrysler PT Cruisers (which we sold on our used car lot quite regularly in the 15 – 20 years leading up to this conversation). Between talking about 40’s and 50’s era Buicks and Chevrolets and the 2000’s era PT Cruisers, Rod became fast friends with not only myself, but also with my parents (Bob & Gloria), our Main Street shop mechanic (Scott), and our assistant office manager (Sheila).
Rod became “one of the family” – more than just a customer. He and Wendy not only had their vehicles serviced here, but also bought a couple of vehicles from us. Rod was a very intelligent person (a former teacher), and was a fantastic researcher. He was the type of customer that would walk into the shop with a vehicle issue, and come in with an article he had found about what could be the possible cause – but it was never in a “pain in the butt” sense. The information he brought us was always very welcome. In fact, one time we were working on a Mini Cooper that he and his wife owned, and were replacing a seatbelt tensioner. Despite calling the Mini dealer with the VIN, the wrong part was sent, and the job had to be delayed. Rod worked his research magic and discovered that there was a 1/2 year production run of this particular car that had a different part number. I called the dealer with this new info. The dealer then confirmed that there was an error in some of the catalogs listing that part # due to the 1/2 year production model. The correct part was sent, and the job was completed.
When Rod was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he was given two weeks to live – but Rod was a fighter. He endured all the treatments with the most positive of attitudes, and was with us all not just for two more weeks – but for two years and two months! Rod would set little goals, saying something like, “My next goal is to make it to our (He and Wendy’s) anniversary.”, and, “My next goal is to make it to the car show on the common this summer”. Rod was always welcome to stop by and visit with us in the office, and we were happy that he did so on a regular basis. I would tell him, “Come on in and have a seat. I’m running around like crazy answering phones and doing paperwork, so I may not be the best company, but you’re welcome to sit down and take a load off”. To which he would always reply, “Business always comes first, I’m just happy to sit down with you all for a few minutes”.
As Rod was putting his affairs in order, he wanted to sell his prized Buick, “Estelle”, and other items to not have stuff around that would be a burden on Wendy. But he didn’t want to sell Estelle to somebody that was just going to flip it. He wanted to sell it to somebody that would honor it, take care of it, and give it a long time home. He wanted us to buy it. Luckily, we were able to do just that – and Estelle holds a place of honor around our lot. In addition to the car, Rod gave us so much history relating to the car – and Buick in general – as well as lots of fantastic little garage keepsakes.
Being a car guy, though Rod wanted to sell Estelle, he wanted to have a much more affordable “project car” that he could tinker with. Enter the PT Cruiser. We had a red one kicking around the lot that had been on the back burner for a while. Knowing that Rod was interested, we finally got it all put together for him. Rod had fun customizing that car over the last year and a half of his life. He got it wrapped with imitation woody paneling, got white wall tires, some fancy wheels, a bright red tail pipe extension, and other custom touches. He brought it to the car show on the common during his last summer.
On April 19th, 2026, Wendy walked into the shop and delivered the sad news that we knew was inevitable – but did not want to hear. Rod had passed away the day before on April 18th, 2026.
Rod will be thought of on a daily basis around this shop. Every time we walk by Estelle; every time I look at one of the old stock certificates from Buick and myriad other antique car manufacturers that he brought us; every time I display one of the little decorative shop trinkets that he brought us. I know I speak for everybody here when I say, we’ll miss you, Rod.