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When Page Gilman couldn't convince his daughter Victoria to clean up her bedroom, he threatened to take a picture of the scene and enter it in the fair's photography contest.
"This was kind of his style," said Gilman's son Richard O'Neill of his father's humor.
Much to Victoria's surprise and chagrin, the photo "The Portrait of a Teenager's Room" took the grand prize for Best Picture Overall.
When Victoria (Gilman) Crandon, now 43, saw the picture at the fair with a blue ribbon strung from it, she started screaming, said Gilman's wife Jenny Gilman.
"Everyone went to see what she was screaming about. Then we saw it and we all got a good laugh," Jenny Gilman said.
Page Gilman, who died at age 88 June 1 after a lengthy illness, is remembered fondly by his family for his warm sense of humor and constant kindness.
Jenny Gilman, 67, of Roseburg, remembers her husband for always speaking kindly of others.
"He's the most nonjudgmental person I've ever met. He would see (others') faults, but it didn't matter to him. He always said something kind and something positive."
The words Page Gilman spoke weren't just heard by his loved ones -- his voice carried across radio waves to millions of listeners during his lifetime.
Page Gilman was born on April 18, 1918, and his NBC radio career launched just nine years later as a boy in San Francisco.
His father, Don Gilman, was vice president of NBC at the time. He and his and mother, Daysie Gilman, took Page with them to the studio one day.
The network was looking for a child who could read, Richard O'Neill said, and Page Gilman was hired for a child's part on two shows: "Memory Lane" and "Penrod and Penrod and Sam."
In 1932, Page Gilman was hired to play the part of Jack Barbour, the youngest son on NBC's radio series "One Man's Family," which aired weekly for 27 years.
Page Gilman entered Stanford University at age 16, where he studied biology, and was drafted into the military in 1942.
He took a sabbatical from his radio career for a stint with the U.S. Army during World War II. He served as an aide to General Archibald V. Arnold while he was serving as the U.S. military governor of South Korea.
Page Gilman returned to radio in 1946 and in 1957 started to realize "One Man's Family" would soon go off the air as network radio was losing out to television.
Sure enough, the show ended in 1959. Soon after, Gilman initiated a career in newspapers, first at the Malibu Press in Malibu, Calif., where he stayed for several years and then at the Ventura Star Free Press in Ventura, Calif., where he climbed the corporate ladder. He eventually landed at the Register-Pajaronian in Watsonville, Calif., where he served as the newspaper's business manager from 1970 to 1984.
An interest in dairy goats brought him and his family to Roseburg in 1985 after his retirement.
The family bought 40 acres of land, had dairy goats and sold grass hay.
"He said his third career was farming," Jenny Gilman said.
Amidst a full career, Page Gilman was a dedicated husband, father and grandfather.
He married Jenny Gilman in Ojai, Calif., in 1970 several months after the two met folk dancing. Previously, he was married to Jeanne LaFontaine and later, Beatrice McIvor. He had three children from his marriage to McIvor, and Jenny Gilman had four from an earlier marriage. Together they had one child -- Don Gilman, 35, of Eugene.
Page Gilman later adopted all of Jenny Gilman's children.
Being an only child, he always dreamed of having a large family.
"He would look at pictures and say, not bad for an only child," Jenny Gilman said.
Richard O'Neill said of Page Gilman, "When they got married, I was 15. Where he excelled as a father (was), when he married my mom, he married us too."
Jenny Gilman said she could've searched high and how and wouldn't have found someone so suited for her.
"He gave me the freedom to be myself. He gave me independence," she said.
She said he was never beneath any task -- if it needed to be done, he'd do it.
Page Gilman died in the presence of his family -- his wife, seven children, most of his 17 grandchildren, and four of his 11 great-grandchildren.
In his last weeks, he commented to his wife that he had fallen in love with his family all over again.
"He was well known, he was handsome, he had it all. But he still remained humble," Jenny Gilman said.
* You can reach reporter Jennifer Mathis at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
"This was kind of his style," said Gilman's son Richard O'Neill of his father's humor.
Much to Victoria's surprise and chagrin, the photo "The Portrait of a Teenager's Room" took the grand prize for Best Picture Overall.
When Victoria (Gilman) Crandon, now 43, saw the picture at the fair with a blue ribbon strung from it, she started screaming, said Gilman's wife Jenny Gilman.
"Everyone went to see what she was screaming about. Then we saw it and we all got a good laugh," Jenny Gilman said.
Page Gilman, who died at age 88 June 1 after a lengthy illness, is remembered fondly by his family for his warm sense of humor and constant kindness.
Jenny Gilman, 67, of Roseburg, remembers her husband for always speaking kindly of others.
"He's the most nonjudgmental person I've ever met. He would see (others') faults, but it didn't matter to him. He always said something kind and something positive."
The words Page Gilman spoke weren't just heard by his loved ones -- his voice carried across radio waves to millions of listeners during his lifetime.
Page Gilman was born on April 18, 1918, and his NBC radio career launched just nine years later as a boy in San Francisco.
His father, Don Gilman, was vice president of NBC at the time. He and his and mother, Daysie Gilman, took Page with them to the studio one day.
The network was looking for a child who could read, Richard O'Neill said, and Page Gilman was hired for a child's part on two shows: "Memory Lane" and "Penrod and Penrod and Sam."
In 1932, Page Gilman was hired to play the part of Jack Barbour, the youngest son on NBC's radio series "One Man's Family," which aired weekly for 27 years.
Page Gilman entered Stanford University at age 16, where he studied biology, and was drafted into the military in 1942.
He took a sabbatical from his radio career for a stint with the U.S. Army during World War II. He served as an aide to General Archibald V. Arnold while he was serving as the U.S. military governor of South Korea.
Page Gilman returned to radio in 1946 and in 1957 started to realize "One Man's Family" would soon go off the air as network radio was losing out to television.
Sure enough, the show ended in 1959. Soon after, Gilman initiated a career in newspapers, first at the Malibu Press in Malibu, Calif., where he stayed for several years and then at the Ventura Star Free Press in Ventura, Calif., where he climbed the corporate ladder. He eventually landed at the Register-Pajaronian in Watsonville, Calif., where he served as the newspaper's business manager from 1970 to 1984.
An interest in dairy goats brought him and his family to Roseburg in 1985 after his retirement.
The family bought 40 acres of land, had dairy goats and sold grass hay.
"He said his third career was farming," Jenny Gilman said.
Amidst a full career, Page Gilman was a dedicated husband, father and grandfather.
He married Jenny Gilman in Ojai, Calif., in 1970 several months after the two met folk dancing. Previously, he was married to Jeanne LaFontaine and later, Beatrice McIvor. He had three children from his marriage to McIvor, and Jenny Gilman had four from an earlier marriage. Together they had one child -- Don Gilman, 35, of Eugene.
Page Gilman later adopted all of Jenny Gilman's children.
Being an only child, he always dreamed of having a large family.
"He would look at pictures and say, not bad for an only child," Jenny Gilman said.
Richard O'Neill said of Page Gilman, "When they got married, I was 15. Where he excelled as a father (was), when he married my mom, he married us too."
Jenny Gilman said she could've searched high and how and wouldn't have found someone so suited for her.
"He gave me the freedom to be myself. He gave me independence," she said.
She said he was never beneath any task -- if it needed to be done, he'd do it.
Page Gilman died in the presence of his family -- his wife, seven children, most of his 17 grandchildren, and four of his 11 great-grandchildren.
In his last weeks, he commented to his wife that he had fallen in love with his family all over again.
"He was well known, he was handsome, he had it all. But he still remained humble," Jenny Gilman said.
* You can reach reporter Jennifer Mathis at 957-4208 or by e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.
