Lawrence Vinton Gillespie, 77, of Nevada, passed away Thursday, October 18, 2012, at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. Lawrence was born December 16, 1934, in Gettysburg, South Dakota to Lloyd and Mary Catherine (Agan) Gillespie. He graduated from Chariton High School in 1955 and was united in marriage to Doreen Faye McCleary on July 27, 1968, in Ankeny. Lawrence worked at Ankeny Ford from 1960-1977, then went to work for Ron Willey Ford for 10 years as the parts manager. He had been a resident of the Iowa Veterans Home for 22 years and was instrumental in starting the bird sanctuary and procuring a machine that residents can use to make custom embossed greeting cards. Lawrence was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Nevada and had been a Cub Scout Leader and Assistant Scout Master. Lawrence enjoyed fishing, leather and woodworking, gardening, traveling and the annual family reunions. Lawrence is survived by his wife Doreen Faye of Nevada, Iowa; his sons, Eric Jay (Cathy) Gillespie of Urbandale, Iowa and David Jon Gillespie of Austin, TX; and his sister, Marjorie (Kenneth) Gookin of Story City, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his parents. Visitation will be held 5-8 p.m. on Monday, October 22, 2012, at Bacon Funeral Home in Nevada. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at the First United Methodist Church in Nevada. Burial will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Greenwood Friends Cemetery in Ankeny with military honors provided by the Ankeny American Legion Post #42 and the United States Army Honor Guard. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lawrence Gillespie Memorial Fund. Bacon Funeral Home in Nevada is handling arrangements.