Paul Charles Gignilliat & Ellen Cash Gignilliat
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Gignilliat Pfaff Bailey McCannon Group
Paul C. Gignilliat
Managing Director - Wealth Management
Financial Advisor
Private Wealth Advisor
Senior Portfolio Manager |
He made his career in the stock market as a broker and investment adviser, primarily
with Kidder Peabody. Today, he is vice president of UBS Global.
Paul joined the securities business in 1955 after two years of serving as an officer in the
U.S. Navy. In 1961, he transferred to Kidder Peabody & Co., which subsequently evolved
into UBS in 2000. His specialty is analyzing stocks, with an emphasis on the quality of
management to increase a company’s value.
He graduated from Yale University in 1953 with a degree in history. Paul holds Series 3,
7 and 66 securities licenses
Beyond his professional experiences, Paul’s generosity and commitment to giving back
are reflected in so many ways.
Paul Gignilliat is chair of the Chicago Humanities Festival Development Committee and
vice chair of the CHF Investment Committee. He is a member the CHF Special Events
Committee.
He is a trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Culver Education Foundation,
and a director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Paul Gignilliat graduate of CMA ’49.
Ellen & Paul Gignilliat Foundation, Inc.
He and his wife, Ellen, have been married 55 years, and have three children and two
grandchildren.
Under information of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago is found:
ELLEN GIGNILLIAT,active in numerous cultural and community organizations, is a member
of Ravinia Festival Board of Trustees and Women’s Board, a member of the Goodman
Theatre’s Women’s Board, and the Women’s Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
She is a Trustee of McCormick Theological Seminary and has served as an Elder and
Trustee of Fourth Church, Co-Chair of the Habitat for Humanity Benefit and a member
of the Partners in Education Board. Ellen is Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign.
Paul GIGNILLIAT, a stockbroker, is also active in the community and serves as a Trustee
for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has served as an Elder, Trustee, and Chair of
Fourth Church’s Stewardship Committee and Investments Committee and as Major Gifts
Committee Chair for the 1994-95 Capital Campaign. Paul is Co-Chair of the Capital
Campaign.
married Indiana Ellen Jane Cash Gignilliat was
raised in East Chicago, Indiana. She received a Bachelor of Science
degree in education from Indiana University
Ellen Cash To Be Among Summer Brides Mrs. Frank E. Cash of 4115 Baring Ave., East Chicago, is
announcing the engagement of daughter, Ellen Jane, to Paul Charles Gignilliat, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Leigh R. Gignilliat Jr. of Chicago.
Miss Cash is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and Indiana University, where she was a member
of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. She received a B. S. degree in education and is teaching at the
Franklin Elementary School in East Chicago.
Her fiance is a graduate of Culver Military Academy and Yale University, where he received a
liberal arts degree. After serving two years with the U.S. Navy, he is employed with the investment
firm of Glore, Forgan and Co. in Chicago.
The couple plan a June wedding in the First Methodist Church of East Chicago.
The Times Hammond,
Her husband, Paul Charles Gignilliat graduated from Yale University .
As a student at IU, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and actively involved with the YWCA and is now a
life member of the IU Alumni Association. Serving in numerous community organizations, including the Women's Board
of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and as a trustee of Ravinia (the summer home of the Chicago Symphony) and a
member of the Ravinia Festival Women's Board. In 1990 demonstrated her commitment to music by the establishment
of the Gignilliat Music Scholarship Fund which is awarded annually to deserving students at IU School of Music. "Music is
such a joy, and the Indiana University School of Music stands out worldwide. I wanted to do something for my alma
mater, and I think it's very exciting tohave a part in making a difference in young lives."
Paul C. Gignilliat is chair of the Chicago Humanities Festival Development Committee and vice chair of the CHF Investment
Committee. He is a member the Chicago Humanities Festival Special Events Committee. He is senior vice president of
investments at UBS, a trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Culver Education Foundation, and a director of
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Ellen and Paul Gignilliat were honored at the Merit School of Music Gala 2007 on Thursday, May 31, 2007 at Four Seasons
Chicago
| Paul Charles Gignilliat Birth 5 Feb 1932 Cook County, Illinois Death
22 Nov 2025 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois Burial Culver Memorial Chapel Columbarium
Culver, Marshall County, Indiana son of
Leigh
Robinson Gignilliat Jr and Charlotte Hosler "Chotty" Ditt |
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You would be forgiven for concluding that the world which survives Paul Charles Gignilliat is
a colder, grimmer place for his absence. Yet such a verdict misses the full measure of his
influence on those fortunate enough to know him and to feel his boundless affection. Paul had
an almost supernatural ability to transform any room with his unique combination of warmth,
humor, and generosity. That gift drew the widest smiles from his friends and family in each
moment of his 93 years and will continue to live on in the hearts of all who loved him.
The roots of Paul's unshakable optimism can be traced to a chance meeting with Ellen Cash in
1955 in Culver, Indiana. Their connection sparked a joyous partnership that lasted seven
decades. They married in 1957 and built a life in Oak Park, Illinois, where they raised three
daughters: Suzanne, Bibby, and Mary. From that home, Paul's presence radiated outward, touching
an ever-expanding community of people and institutions enriched by his kindness and involvement.
To know Paul was to witness his passion for learning and his deep loyalty to his alma maters,
the Culver Military Academy and Yale University. He often said that these schools had provided
every tool he needed for a meaningful life. In return, he worked tirelessly to promote access to
their programs and to enhance their campuses, ensuring that future generations could share in the
opportunities that shaped him.
A steadfast believer in service, Paul followed his family's footsteps into the ROTC and, after
graduating from Yale in 1953, was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served two years
at Great Lakes Naval Station aboard the USS Daniel A. Joy. The discipline he gained during that
period stayed with him, and he frequently spoke of those days as among the most formative of his
life.
After completing his service, Paul began his professional career as an investment adviser at Glore
Forgan in Chicago. He joined Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1961 and remained through its subsequent
acquisitions- rst by GE, then PaineWebber, and ultimately UBS. Over six decades, Paul's intellect,
insight, and grace made him an essential gure within each new chapter of the rm, an achievement few
can claim.
Yet it often felt as though Paul's true work began in the evenings, when he poured his energy into
the civic and cultural life of his community. During his three decades in Oak Park, he raised funds
for the Oak Park Community Chest, helped lead the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and
Studio, and served as head of the Oak Park–River Forest High School Board, which his daughters
attended.
Paul's involvement in and impact on the lives of his children cannot be overstated. He was a constant
reading companion, carpool captain, mischief co-conspirator, game partner, and emotional anchor.
After relocating to downtown Chicago in 1985, Paul became a founding member of the Chicago Humanities
Festival and served on the boards of Hubbard Street Dance, the Chicago International Film Festival,
he Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fourth Presbyterian Church, and numerous others.
Theaters and concert halls across Chicagoland-from the Goodman Theatre to the Merit School of Music-are
well acquainted with the generosity and steadfast support of Paul and Ellen Gignilliat.
His inextinguishable love of the arts was perhaps matched only by his passion for knowledge and language.
He filled his home with novels and histories, quoted Shakespeare in conversation (with varying accuracy),
and planned travel around his ever-evolving intellectual interests.
Athletics were another enduring joy. He rowed and boxed at both Culver and Yale, later ran two New York
City marathons and multiple triathlons, biked long-distance routes, swam, and played squash, golf, and
tennis. (His longtime tennis and squash partners will never forget his unusual and formidable
ambidexterity.) Paul even took up tap dancing at the age of 80.
Ever the gentleman and gentle man, his greatest gift may have been conversation. Blessed with an endlessly
inquisitive mind, Paul delighted in new ideas and unexpected viewpoints. Time spent talking with him was
always a pleasure; he had a rare ability to take in the world's constant changes with genuine interest,
re ection, and gratitude. And of course, his verbal quips and expressions will live on in countless future
conversations.
Paul often quoted Psalm 23:5, noting that his cup "runneth over" with blessing and good fortune. Those who
survive him-his wife of 68 years, Ellen Cash Gignilliat; his daughters Suzanne (Tom Hinkes), Bibby, and Mary;
and his grandsons Paul Sylvester Hinkes (Carolina Trombetta) and Philip Edward Hinkes-know that they were,
in truth, the ones entrusted with that over owing cup.
Memorial services will be held in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. (CST) at
Fourth Presbyterian Church, and in Culver, Indiana on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. (EST) at the
Culver Academies.
In lieu of owers, donations may be made to the Culver Academies, Chicago Lights, or the Chicago Humanities
Festival. - Legacy. com by Michalik Funeral Home on Nov. 29, 2025.
| Ellen Jane Cash Birth 8 Jul 1932 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Death 6 Jul 2026 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois Burial Culver Memorial Chapel
Columbarium Culver, Marshall County, Indiana |
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Ellen Gignilliat's last moments were spent on the porch of her cottage in Culver, Indiana, surrounded
by her family — a fitting end to a life devoted to others, and a reminder to us all of her selfless
belief in love and community.
Ellen was born in 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, the middle daughter of Frank Cash and Mary Burris, who made
their home in East Chicago, Indiana. She was a wonderful sibling to her older sister Joanne and younger
brother Jim. It was here, at just three years old, that Ellen met her lifelong best friend Ruth Biggs —
the first thread in what would become a boundless network of friendships.
Ellen maintained close ties with friend groups from every stage of her life. She attended Roosevelt High
School (class of 1950) and graduated from Indiana University — which those close to her know she never
abbreviated as "I.U." — with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1954. Her high school and college
friends, many of them fellow Tri Delta sorority sisters, remained constant fixtures in her life, reuniting
each summer on the very porch where Ellen would go on to spend her last waking moments.
Ellen followed her parents into education, teaching elementary school in East Chicago and later in Oak Park.
A born teacher, she struck the same tone with children as with adults — an approach that made every student
feel like they mattered, and gave every adult a chance to reconnect with their own childhood. She was
approachable, curious, and full of laughter.
In 1955, her devotion to children brought her to the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver, Indiana as a camp
counselor. There, in a chance encounter at a drugstore, she met Paul Gignilliat. They married in June 1957
and shared a loving partnership that lasted nearly 70 years.
Paul and Ellen moved to Oak Park, Illinois, where they raised three daughters — Suzanne, Bibby, and Mary. With
three children at home, Ellen devoted herself to family. But her aim to leave the world better than she found
it soon extended beyond the house on East Avenue, and her life as a "professional volunteer” began in earnest.
Ellen took on major leadership and fundraising roles with the Oak Park River Forest Day Nursery, the Infant
Welfare Society, the Beye School PTA, and Ravinia Festival. Back in Indiana, she volunteered with the Lake
Maxinkuckee Environmental Fund and the Mothers Association at Culver Academies.
The list goes on. After Ellen and Paul relocated to downtown Chicago, some of the organizations that benefited
from her generosity included the Merit School of Music, the Goodman Theatre, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Chicago Lights, and McCormick Theological Seminary.
Nothing compares to the impact she had on her alma mater, Indiana University. She served as a trustee on the
Jacobs School of Music Foundation Board, where she funded multiple music school scholarships. The university
remained close to her heart; fittingly, the last college football championship she witnessed belonged to the
Hoosiers.
Ellen was most in her element connecting people, professionally or socially. Known as “the hostess with the
mostest,” she turned her annual tea party — or any ordinary dinner party — into an event of legendary character.
No one was happier to have a house full of friends, and even strangers, than Ellen. While most people grow
more guarded about new friendships with age, Ellen's appetite for conversation and connection only grew.
A newcomer in her home would have a chair and a cocktail in hand before they could say "Hello Ellen." It was
here that she was at her most ebullient and elegant, maintaining, well into her nineties, an awe-inspiring
network of friends and engagements.
We will remember her hanging up the phone because — even at 93 — she needed to "get her hair done and put on a
little lipstick" before that day's luncheon. We picture her with a theater or concert program in hand, ready to
discuss what she'd just seen over a steak dinner. We see her cheering on her beloved Chicago Cubs. We envision
the consummate wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, wishing us "sweet dreams" as we leave the porch in
Culver — where she would, without fail, be the last one awake.
We are profoundly grateful for the loving care Ellen received in her final years, and we especially thank Mona,
Reggie, Elvira, Myla, and Marta for their countless hours of dedication.
Ellen is survived by her daughters, Suzanne Gignilliat (Tom Hinkes), Bibby Gignilliat, and Mary Gignilliat; and
her grandsons, Paul Hinkes (Carolina Trombetta) and Philip Hinkes.
A memorial service celebrating Ellen Cash Gignilliat will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at
Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut Street, Chicago, IL 60611. A reception will immediately follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Chicago Lights (https://chicagolights. org) or the Merit School of
Music (https://meritmusic. org).