A Piece of My Heart Judy Gillies

A Piece of My Heart

Judy Gillies

She’s the stalwart of Toowoomba Grammar School.

Every Old Boy fondly remembers Judy Gillies and the positive impact she had on their lives.

“It’s a mutual feeling,” smiled Judy.

“I was like a sister to the boys when I started here and a grandmother to them when I left.”

Judy Gillies, nee Magarry, started at TGS at the age of 15 as an office junior in March 1958. She was catching the bus to business college when a neighbour suggested she apply for the position.

“When I left the interview and looked at the beautiful grounds and listened to the chirping birds, I knew this was where I wanted to work.”

She started three days later and has never looked back.

“My role was so diverse; it was never boring,” recalled Judy.

“I’d organise the boys’ travel home, and I loved just being there for them and their parents, helping the boys who were homesick and visiting boarders in hospital.”

Judy’s father painted the School buildings on a seasonal basis, and she met her future husband here. Russell Gillies taught Maths and Economics from 1959 to 1999 and is the longest serving academic at TGS. They married in 1962.

“Russell and I called TGS our ‘other family’ that we went to each day; we both just loved it that much,” Judy said.

It comes as no surprise that their two sons are Old Boys, Mark (77-81) and Drew (79-83).

Judy worked for six Headmasters and saw a lot of changes over the years, citing technology and the immense growth of the School as the biggest changes. Her impact on the School was so significant that she was made an Honorary Old Boy alongside Denise Miller in 1986.

Judy is the School’s longest serving employee, and to recognise her dedication, the TGS Old Boys’ Association commissioned a portrait of her by Brisbane artist, Dalerie Patterson. It was presented on her 50th anniversary in March 2012 and now hangs proudly in School House reception. Judy retired four months later, on 6 July 2012.

Sadly, Russell passed away unexpectedly in November that year, and feeling a little lost, Judy turned to the one place that had been so steadfast in her life. She started volunteering at the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association Museum in 2013 and spends two days every week there. Judy is grateful for the connection and was recognised by the School during National Volunteers Week in May, along with her Museum colleagues, just a few days after her 80th birthday.

“The School has really been my saviour,” stated Judy.

She loves seeing the Old Boys and their relatives and attending the annual reunions that feel more like family reunions to her than a school reunion. Many Old Boys send her flowers for her birthday or ring her to share milestones in their lives.

“It’s all the little things that make TGS so wonderful,” said Judy.

“It was meant to be that I got that job; it’s been my life and holds a piece of my heart.”