Jon Gailmor Credit: Courtesy
Vermont troubadour, Elmore community icon, beloved by adults and children, Jon Gailmor died peacefully on November 30, 2025, at his son’s home in New Orleans after a courageous battle with leukemia. He left this world to the sound of his family singing by his side.
Jon was born in Manhattan on August 5, 1948, to William and Elaine Gailmor. After his early childhood in the Philadelphia area, the family moved to Westport, Conn., where Jon attended Staples High School. There, under the direction of George Weigle, Jon sang in the choir and became a member of the select singing group the Orphenians. This gave Jon his first sense of musical camaraderie. Also formative for Jon during his teen years was the music of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Josh White. Jon developed political and social awareness from his father, a journalist and radio news commentator, and from his mother, an astute observer of the human condition.
After high school, Jon attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined the renowned Penn Glee Club and was voted its president. This remained a most treasured time in his life.
After college graduation, and following the early death of his father, Jon spent months hitchhiking across Europe, singing in cafés to earn his keep. His life during this unconventional and free-spirited time shaped his understanding of music, humanity and purpose.
Returning home in the early 1970s, Jon formed a folk duo with fellow Staples classmate Rob Carlson. Amidst gigs in coffeehouses, clubs and colleges, their album, Peaceable Kingdom, was released by major label Polydor Records. Jon quickly realized the bright lights of commercial music didn’t fit his heart and that big fame wasn’t for him.
In 1977, Jon visited Vermont for the first time, fell in love with the sense of community and decided to stay. He met and married Cathy Murphy, settled in Elmore to raise their family, and set his energies to creating a career, not about fame and fortune, but about caring and contribution. In the following decades, Jon became renowned as a community-centered singer, songwriter, performer and educator, focusing especially on working with children and families. Over the years, he released several solo albums filled with self-penned songs combining humor, warmth, social awareness and humanity.
In 1979, Jon launched a weekly children’s music radio show, “Just Kidding,” which aired for more than two decades on the Waterbury radio station WDEV. He also influenced generations of Vermont kids through songwriting residencies in schools and other organizations, inspiring them to create their own music, to find their voices, to believe in themselves. This gift of helping others to feel heard, seen and valued was a hallmark of Jon’s life.
In October 2024, Jon moved to New Orleans to be closer to family and to focus on his health. He continued to write music, including a tribute song to the staff at the Ochsner Cancer Center, where he was lovingly and skillfully treated.
Jon loved his late wife, Cathy, with his whole heart. He was proud beyond words of his children — Aaron, Maya and Micaela — and never missed a soccer game, track meet or school performance. “Papa” to his grandchildren Farrah and Cooper, Jon inspired in them a love of music. Cassie, his daughter-in-law, was a light in his life, and she loved him as a second father. Jon adored his older sister, Wendy, and remained close to her, along with her late husband, David, whom he loved as a brother. Jon cherished all of his extended family and close friends.
Donations in Jon’s honor may go to music education, either to your local school’s music program or to the Integrated Arts Academy (IAA), where Jon was a regular artist-in-residence. Checks can be sent to the IAA, 6 Archibald St., Burlington, VT 05401, with “Jon Gailmor” in the memo line.
A celebration of Jon’s life will be held in late May 2026 in Vermont, the place he loved. Details will be available later.
Jon often said: “My reason for being is music.” Music brought him purpose, but what defined him was something deeper — love, kindness and lifting hearts.
We love you, Dad, Papa, Brother, Friend.
