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General First nameGilbert James (Gil)
LastnameShea
GenderMale
CountryUnited States of America
Date of birth1928-10-05
Place of birthPortland, Oregon, United States of America
Date of death2020-12-23
Place of deathPacific Palisades, California, United States of America


About

Obituary

From legacy.com: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=gilbert-james-shea&pid=197428988

Gil Shea passed away Wednesday morning, December 23rd, 2020, from natural causes. He was 92. He was a Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame athlete who competed in international Grand Slam tennis events throughout the 1950s. Gil was born in Portland, Oregon and was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he rode his bike to play tennis every day at the Los Angeles Tennis Club with his brother John.

Gil attended Los Angeles High School, and in 1948 he was recruited and played No. 1 for the University of Southern California tennis team. His ascending tennis career was interrupted by two years of service in the Army during the Korean War. After returning and graduating from the business school at the University of Southern California, Gil continued his tennis career, playing from 1954 to 1957 as a top 10 tennis player in the U.S. He played on the Davis Cup Team in 1954 and secured the No. 4 U.S. ranking in 1957.

Gil retired from tennis in 1959 and moved to Manhattan Beach, California, where he met Claire Wellenkamp, who was a schoolteacher at the time. The two were married in 1961, in Claire’s hometown of Santa Maria, and eventually moved to Pacific Palisades where they raised their five children.

Gil worked as an institutional broker for Lehman Brothers, opening their Los Angeles sales office, then later for Seidler Amdec and other brokerage firms. No matter his achievements on or off the court, Gil’s character was largely defined by his Christian faith. He was devoted to his family and remained a strong role model for his five children and sixteen grandchildren.

Always optimistic and positive, Gil was a mentor and a confidant committed to his wife, children, grandchildren and siblings. He was also close friends with many associates and golfing buddies. Gil was a devout Catholic who attended 8am daily mass at Corpus Christi Church in the Palisades and could be seen riding his bike there well into his eighties.

Gil is survived by his wife of 59 years, Claire, their five children, Mollie Dietsch (John), Gilbert ‘Gibby’ Shea III (Ann), Jennifer ‘Jennie’ Swan (Sam), Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Tripaldi (Jeff), Michael Shea (Jordan), sixteen grandchildren and siblings, John Shea (Dorothy), Maureen Robinson (Phil) and Mollie O’Melveny (Stuart – deceased). A sister, Susie Hanrahan (Bud), predeceased him.

Media


Archive statistics Career1946 - 1959
Tournament wins10
Matches333
Match wins218


Tournament wins 1958 - Thunderbird Invitation (Amateur)
1957 - Ojai Championships (Open)
1956 - Southern California Championship (Open)
1956 - Ojai Championships (Open)
1955 - Shadow Mountain (Amateur)
1955 - Ojai Championships (Open)
1954 - Cannes Carlton (Amateur)
1954 - Monte Carlo Mid-Winter (Amateur)
1954 - US Hard Courts (Open)
1953 - Oklahoma State (Open)


Tournaments US Open - 1959 Wimbledon - 1958 Southern California Championship - 1958 Queens Club Tournament - 1958 Thunderbird Invitation - 1958 Wimbledon - 1957 Roland Garros - 1957 US Open - 1957 Nassau Bowl - 1957 Newport Casino - 1957 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1957 Southern California Championship - 1957 Queens Club Tournament - 1957 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1957 Kent Championships - 1957 Conde de Godo - 1957 Wimbledon Plate (Consolation) - 1957 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1957 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1957 Ojai Championships - 1957 Balboa Bay Club Invitation - 1957 Tournament of Champions - 1957 Australian Open - 1956 Wimbledon - 1956 US Open - 1956 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1956 Southern California Championship - 1956 Irish Championships - 1956 Queens Club Tournament - 1956 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1956 US International Indoor Championships - 1956 River Oaks Tournament - 1956 La Jolla Tournament - 1956 Kent Championships - 1956 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1956 US vs. Australia exhibitions - 1956 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1956 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1956 Ojai Championships - 1956 US Hard Courts - 1956 Dallas Invitation - 1956 Wimbledon - 1955 US Open - 1955 Newport Casino - 1955 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1955 Southern California Championship - 1955 Queens Club Tournament - 1955 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1955 US International Indoor Championships - 1955 La Jolla Tournament - 1955 Kent Championships - 1955 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1955 Ojai Championships - 1955 US Hard Courts - 1955 Shadow Mountain - 1955 Wimbledon - 1954 Monte Carlo - 1954 Roland Garros - 1954 US Open - 1954 Cannes Carlton - 1954 Lyon Covered Court Championships - 1954 Nassau Bowl - 1954 Newport Casino - 1954 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1954 Sugar Bowl - 1954 Irish Championships - 1954 Queens Club Tournament - 1954 French International Covered Court Championships - 1954 Italian International Championships - 1954 South of France Championships - 1954 International Championships of Egypt - Cairo - 1954 Dixie Championships - 1954 International Championships of Egypt-Alexandria - 1954 Kent Championships - 1954 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1954 Surrey Championships - 1954 San Remo - 1954 Conde de Godo - 1954 Florida West Coast - 1954 Scandinavian Championships - 1954 Team Matches - Egypt - 1954 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1954 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1954 Nations' Cup (Egypt) - 1954 US Hard Courts - 1954 Germantown Cricket Club Invitation - 1954 Monte Carlo Mid-Winter - 1954 Florence International - 1954 US Open - 1953 Newport Casino - 1953 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1953 Sugar Bowl - 1953 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1953 Oklahoma State - 1953 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1953 Colombia International - 1953 Intercollegiate Championships - 1953 Middle Atlantic Grass Courts - 1953 Curacao Night Championships - 1953 US Open - 1952 California State Championship - 1952 San Francisco City - 1952 US Open - 1950 Southern Championships - 1950 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1950 River Oaks Tournament - 1950 Palm Springs - 1950 Intercollegiate Championships - 1950 Middle Atlantic Grass Courts - 1950 US Open - 1949 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1949 Seabright Invitational - 1949 Cincinnati - 1949 US Open Qualifying - 1949 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1949 Ojai Championships - 1949 US Open - 1948 California State Championship - 1948 Newport Casino - 1948 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1948 Seabright Invitational - 1948 US Clay Courts - 1948 US Clay Courts - 1947 Western States Championships - 1946 Town House Invitational - 1946