Support for the family of Shawn Gillis

Hello, my name is Christopher Smith and I'm fundraising to support the wife and two children of my close friend Shawn Gillis. We lost Shawn suddenly on 28 November and I'm looking to provide support to the family to cover funeral expenses (approximately $10,000) and ease their burden this Holiday season.

Shawn was a person who made a big impression on everyone who met him. A proud Cape Breton farm boy, Shawn joined the Canadian Armed Forces Military Police branch in 1989. Transferring to become a Hull Technician in 2001, he served on HMC Ships HURON, ALGONQUIN, REGINA, and CALGARY with shore postings to Fleet Dive Unit Pacific and Fleet maintenance Facility Cape Breton. Shawn deployed overseas with ALGONQUIN and to Afghanistan. In 2014 Shawn released from the CAF due to injuries he sustained while in Afghanistan. He continued on to complete his Masters Degree in Disaster and Emergency Management at Royal Roads University in 2016. He was never able to fully recover from Afghanistan and those limitations were a challenge as he sought to settle on a new career path that was meaningful to him.

Larger than life in many ways he was always willing to help out whenever others had need. In the 20+ years I knew Shawn, he was always helping someone move or willing to put his own plans on hold to help someone with a home renovation. When there was someone in need Shawn made helping them any way he could his top priority and I would like to carry on this tradition by helping his family in their time of need.

All funds raised by this fundraiser will be transferred directly to Shawn's wife Melanie and cover the expenses from his funeral tentatively scheduled for 7 Dec 2021.

Thank you all for your consideration and any donations will be greatly appreciated by the family.