Rawhide Boys Ranch in New London is mourning the loss of one of its co-founders, Jan Gillespie, who passed away Wednesday at 82-years-old.
Jan co-founded the ranch with her husband John in 1965, and during her tenure Rawhide Boys Ranch became a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that provides residential care to at-risk boys throughout Wisconsin.
They grew the facility from one boys home into a campus that includes seven boys homes, the Starr Academy, an accredited private high school, a mental health outpatient clinic, and numerous job training facilities, located on over 600 acres of land near the Wolf River.
Over time, Jan served as a housemother at Rawhide for 27 years to over 350 boys. The facility continues to a faith-based residential environment, as an alternative to juvenile corrections for court-referred and at-risk young men.
A memorial service will be held for Jan on Monday, January 30th at Appleton Alliance Church at 11 a.m.