Obituary of Donald Craig Gilbert

Donald Craig Gilbert of New Canaan, CT, passed away July 13, 2024, at home with his wife by his side.

Don, whose working life started in the Marine Corps and ended on Madison Avenue, was 91.

He flew fighter jets in the 1950s, worked for ad giant J. Walter Thompson in the 1960s, and ran his own Manhattan consulting and executive search firm for 40 years, specializing in advertising agencies and marketing companies.

He was a pilot, sailor, skier, avid reader and a collector of art.

Don was born in New York City on Jan. 11, 1933, son of Samuel Gilbert and Diana Levensohn. His parents met riding in Central Park and married on horseback in Nanuet, N.Y.

Don grew up in Larchmont, N.Y. and attended New Rochelle High School and St. Lawrence University, where he committed to the Marine Corps as an undergraduate in 1952, spending summers training at Parris Island (S.C.) and Quantico (Va.) before getting his degree two years later.  

Don trained as an aviator in the aftermath of the Korean War.  He did his flight training in Pensacola and Kingsville, Texas, then spent most of his active-duty service at Cherry Point, N.C. He flew the F-9 Cougar, FJ-3 Fury, and the F3D Skyknight, serving in the storied 531^st, the Marine Corps’ first night-fighter squadron. 

His peacetime service came in an era of early-generation jets and heavy pilot losses, including the loss of many friends and squadron mates.  In 1957, Don survived a crash caused by engine failure shortly after takeoff in Pensacola. His F3D exploded and burned after he landed in scrub, unstrapped his crewman and ran clear. All that remained was a green glass ship’s decanter he had carried aboard, which he kept in his bedroom for decades afterward as a good luck token.

Don left active duty after his first son was born and his second son was on the way. He returned to New York, looking for work in the business world.  His Marine Corps background continued to shape his career.  

Don was hired in 1959 by a former Navy pilot who worked for Emmett J. Leahy, an archivist, management consultant and efficiency expert famous for helping the military, the government and private companies save millions by reducing their paperwork and streamlining their record-keeping.  

Working out of the Empire State Building as a consultant for Leahy & Co., Don’s first major client was the military jet manufacturer, the Grumman Corporation.

Don crewed for Leahy on his legendary Olin Stephens-designed 72-foot yawl, Bolero, built for Navy Undersecretary John Nicholas Brown and a three-time winner of the Newport-Bermuda race.   

When Leahy closed his firm in the early 1960s, Don went to work for J. Walter Thompson, where he spent seven years, working on administration, personnel and acquisitions, and helping to run the ad agency’s New York office.  After Thompson went public, Don left and in 1970 started his own consulting firm on Madison Avenue, which he ran for roughly 43 years (until he turned 80), advising advertising agencies and other firms on search, acquisitions and strategy.  He helped assemble the Madison Avenue ad team for Gerald Ford’s 1976 presidential campaign and President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 re-election campaign.  

Throughout his long professional career, Don offered valued career advice and assistance to scores of colleagues, associates and friends, who knew he would take time out to listen and help whenever they needed it.

Don had two sons, Thomas and Craig, from his first marriage to the late Beverly Shonka, and helped raise Elizabeth McKee Zea and Bradshaw McKee, daughter and son of Nancy Todd, from their early school years.  Don and Nancy married in 1976 and lived together in New Canaan, Connecticut for almost 50 years.   

Don took up flying again as a hobby after his Marine Corps service, owning and flying two Stearman acrobatic biplanes for 30 years. He was a downhill skier, motorcyclist and yachtsman, racing Atlantic and Star keelboats out of Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, Connecticut, where he was a member for 58 years and served as Commodore. He was a longtime member of the Yale Club, University Club and New Canaan Field Club.

Don used his free time in the Marine Corps to read widely in literature, history and art, all lifelong interests.  Don’s other hobbies included hunting grouse, pheasant, ducks and woodcock with his bird dog, Max, a German short-haired pointer.

Don is survived by Nancy, Tom, Craig, Elizabeth and Brad, his nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the Congregational Church in New Canaan at 11 am on September 28th. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any memorial donations or contributions be made to the Congregational Church (23 Park Street, New Canaan, CT 06840) or New Canaan Emergency Management Service/EMS (182 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT O6840).