Dr. Mollie Gillen
L.M. Montgomery Biographer
November 1, 1908 – January 3, 2009
We celebrate the life of Mollie Gillen who was a pioneer in L.M. Montgomery research. She was admired by legions of Montgomery fans for her early work in discovering and preserving Montgomery's lost letters to pen pal George MacMillan of Scotland and using them to craft an insightful biography in 1975, The Wheel of Things. Mollie was one of the Montgomery "pioneers" recognized at the 2008 Montgomery conference on Prince Edward Island [read Honoring the Preservationists].
Mollie's first article about L.M. Montgomery appeared in
Chatelaine Magazine in July 1973
The first time that Mollie Gillen was recognized publicly for her Montgomery work was when Jack and Linda Hutton made her the guest of honor at their Bala celebration. Kevin McCabe and Mary Rubio paid tribute to Mollie. Read more about this touching event in the 1997 Shining Scroll (p. 4). She was befriended by kindred spirits Kevin McCabe, Yuka Kajihara, and Jason Nolan who made sure that
Mollie knew how much Montgomery fans appreciated her.
Read about Mollie Gillen at this page by Yuka and 100th year party by Jason
The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album is dedicated to Mollie's son, Ian Richard Gillen.