Amy Ruth Gillespie

Amy Ruth Gillespie, an environmental attorney, died Sunday, November 24, 2019 after a 4.5 year battle against ovarian cancer. Amy was born July 13, 1966 in Minneapolis, MN, to Jim and Mary Gillespie, and grew up in Minnetonka, MN; Fountain Hills, AZ; and Stillwater, MN (class of 1984). A high school debater and college speech team member, she was a 1988 graduate of St. Olaf College with majors in Religion and Languages Studies. Amy graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 1993. After law school, she clerked for Judge James Wynn on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and then served in the Environmental Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s office. In 2000, Amy joined the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Environmental Enforcement Section (EES), where she worked to enforce all the major federal environmental statutes but had special expertise in enforcement of the hazardous waste and Superfund laws. Amy delighted in mentoring young attorneys at DOJ, receiving an EES award for her dedication to this work in 2016. She served in leadership of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church; the St. Olaf Alumni Board; and Community Club, a weekly, long-standing volunteer tutoring program for D.C. Public School high school students, where she facilitated the college application process. She received Community Club’s Award for Community Service in 2019. Amy brought her quick wit, incisive commentary and compassion to many small groups, her St. Olaf book club, her Authenticity Group, and her high school Sunday School class at NYAPC. She is survived by mother, Mary Gillespie, sisters Jennifer and Sara, and many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Amy was preceded in death by a newborn sister; father, James H. Gillespie; and grandparents, Lucy and Edgar Rogers and Ruth and James M. Gillespie. Gifts in Amy’s memory may be made to New York Avenue Presbyterian’s Community Club or Casey Trees. A memorial service celebrating Amy’s life will be held at 3 PM Monday, December 2, 2019, at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC.