Peoria Standard

The middle and high school students of Peoria Public Schools returned to their classrooms quicker than anticipated, as was made possible by a $200,000 by former Caterpillar, Inc. President Robert Gilmore. 

Gilmore died in September at the age of 100, and the Gilmore Foundation board approved the donation to the school last month.

“Even in his absence, Bob Gilmore continues to give back to the community he loved so much,” said Laura Cullinan, executive director of the Gilmore Foundation, according to the Chillicothe Times Bulletin. 

Gilmore's donation was matched by COVID testing services provided by Reditus Laboratories of Pekin.

The donations were used on rapid COVID-19 testing procedures, which made the return of middle and high school students safer and easier; allowing studends to return two months earlier than the projected second semester unlike all other schools across the state. 

The district's younger students up to grade four returned to school in late October, and the return of the older students marks the completion of PPS's transition to partial in-school learning from all virtual.

“This was a tremendous, game-changing donation for us,” PPS superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, said in the Chillicothe Times Bulletin article. 

“This will allow us to meet the district’s goal of getting students back into school classrooms and allow us to keep schools open safely,” said Desmoulin-Kherat. 

Caterpillar is among the largest employers in the state of Illinois, employing 3,000 people in Peoria, according to Intersect Illinois. Gilmore himself lived a life of service, including tenure as a B-17 navigator in the Air Force during World War II. 

Gilmore started as a machinist apprentice at Caterpillar in 1938, and remained with the company until he became president in 1977. Gilmore served as director for over 20 years, and retired from Caterpillar operations in 1985. 

His service to the company totaled more than 50 years. 

“His philanthropy in the Peoria area has benefited thousands of people through the Gilmore Foundation, which supports charities, cultural initiatives and job creation,” Cullinan said, “Earlier this year, Bob donated $1 million to charities in the Peoria area to combat economic hardships brought on by COVID-19.”

With little fanfare, Gilmore donated hundreds of thousands to dollars to Peoria's museums, public schools, food banks, and cultural amenities like the orchestra. 

“That’s how he did things,” Cullinan said. “Quietly and behind the scenes, never seeking recognition.”

“Bob’s legacy has not and will not die,” sad Cullinan.