Eric Charles Gill, a local architect and capital facilities director at the Vashon School District, died on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after a battle with cancer.

Gill, 62, was well known on Vashon for his position with the schools, where he worked for a dozen years and was instrumental in the construction of the new Vashon High School building. He also owned an architecture company with his wife, was involved in the local rowing club and in his free time could often be found cooking, sailing or snapping photos of his family’s activities.

“He had a really wonderful life,” said his wife, Kim Goforth. “He loved this community. He loved living here.”

Those who knew Gill describe him as a quiet but cheerful man who cared for his family and in his professional life was skilled at planning down to the detail and at finding resolutions when needed.

“He was a great listener and had an ability to weave the concerns and input of others into solutions that were cost effective and responsive,” said Superintendent Michael Soltman. “And Eric was our close colleague, our friend and partner. We are so saddened by his death and will miss him immensely.”

Gill was born on June 22, 1952, in Eureka, California. He moved to Seattle to study architecture at the University of Washington, where he met Goforth, and the two married in 1990.

Gill started his career as an architect at Cardwell Thomas & Associates in Seattle, and his early projects included a new library in Steilacoom and the renovation of one of the oldest buildings on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

Gill and Goforth moved to Vashon in 2001 with their two young sons. After a short time commuting off-island, the position at the school district opened up, rather serendipitously, Goforth said. He started at the schools as the couple designed and built their home on a forested parcel with a view of Mount Rainier.

“He was really proud of the house,” Goforth said.

Working for the district on a contract basis, Gill was responsible for planning and coordinating capital projects and building improvements at Vashon’s three public schools. For the last 10 years, he played a key role in the planning for and construction of the new high school building.

Soltman said Gill was integral on the project, calling him engaging and friendly, while at the same time assertive and demanding when it came to representing the school district’s interests.

“His personal and professional investment in the outcome of our project is largely the reason that we experienced few problems and obtained an amazing result,” he said.

Goforth said Gill was passionate about successfully completing the high school, which he considered both a school and a community gathering place, and was pleased with the final product. The building opened a year ago.

“It was a huge part of his life, getting the high school built. … He felt so good about it, despite the challenges,” Goforth said.

In his personal life, Gill loved to be on the water and was an experienced sailor. He rebuilt a sailboat in high school, and as an adult frequently sailed around the Puget Sound and beyond with his family.

He also rowed with the Vashon Island Rowing Club, though work and illness took him away from the water in recent years. His sons Thane and Tate, who graduated from Vashon High School in 2011 and 2014, rowed with the club as well, as does Goforth.

Jeff Hoyt, another masters rower and friend of Gill, described him as a “kind, cheerful and positive teammate who carried himself with a sort of quiet dignity.”

Family members, too, said that while Gill was known for his calm personality, he was enthusiastic when it mattered. Tate noted that sometimes when he complained, Gill would challenge him to say at least one positive thing.

“He was very positive,” said his sister Paula Gill. “He always saw the good in people and the good opportunity in any situation.”

Gill is survived by his wife, Kim Goforth, sons Thane and Tate Gill, as well as his sisters, Paula Gill of Bremerton and Karen Swope of Columbia, Missouri.

Gill’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to the Vashon Schools Foundation.

A service for Gill will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Vashon High School.

Goforth said she hopes the event isn’t a somber one, but a celebration of Gill’s life. People are invited to bring refreshments.

“I hope that there’s laughter,” she said. “That’s what he would have wanted.”