Peter Gavin

Peter F. Gavin, Ph.D., 40, of Zionsville, IN, died on April 21, 2011 after a short illness. Peter was born on November 23, 1970 in Dunkirk, NY, the son of Jerome and Natalie (Woods) Gavin. Peter was the salutatorian of Dunkirk High School’s Class in 1988. After high school he attended The State University of New York, College at Fredonia where he earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry and also met his wife of 17 years, Julia (Giambra) Gavin, daughter of Laurel and Rosie Giambra of Brocton, NY. Peter’s love of research led him to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University, where he developed new nano-scale separation and detection systems. While there, he became a big fan of Penn State football and took pride in bringing his daughters and friends to Happy Valley to experience the very unique, high energy environment of 100,000 fans singing and cheering in unison. Peter spent a brief period of time working for International Paper in Erie, PA before finding his passion for bringing new innovative medicines to patients. Peter began his work at Eli Lilly’s Tippecanoe Laboratory in 1998. As a research scientist, he was proud to visit the pharmacy and show his daughters the two medicines he had helped bring to market. Later in his tenure at Lilly, Peter moved to Indianapolis and had the privilege of helping to design and then work on a new team which transformed the way Lilly enabled toxicology studies and Phase 1 clinical trials. He enjoyed the multifunctional interactions and unique working environment that came with delivering that part of Lilly’s portfolio. At the time of his death, Peter was the Director of Analytical Technologies Design and Development. Peter was a member of the American Chemical Society, American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences and authored many scientific publications while in graduate school and at Lilly, and also earned patents during his time at International Paper. He was also a member of St Alphonsus Ligouri Catholic Church and a member of the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus. Peter will be missed by many. He was a remarkable husband, father, godfather, son, son-in-law, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, colleague, teacher, mentor, and friend. He was his daughters’ number one fan supporting all of their endeavors from academics to athletics to the arts. He touched many lives with his unique style and brought diverse groups of people together to celebrate life in a larger than life way. No matter the situation, Peter could find humor by making a joke or singing a song so people would laugh. Preceding Peter in death were his grandparents, John and Catherine Woods and Harry and Jean Gavin. In addition to his wife and parents, survivors include his two daughters, Nicole Catherine Gavin and Claire Alexandra Gavin; three siblings, Patrick Gavin (Gina) of Lee’s Summit, MO, Mary (Gavin) Dupuis (Michael) of Friendswood, TX, and Paul Gavin (Sue) of Dunkirk, NY; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday April 27, 2011 at 10:00 am at St. Alphonsus Ligouri Catholic Church, 1870 West Oak Street, Zionsville, Indiana with visitation at the church Tuesday April 26th from 3-5 pm and 6-8pm. A memorial mass will also be held Friday, April 29, 2011 at 10:00 am at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1032 Central Ave., Dunkirk, New York with visitation at the church from 9-10 am on the same day. Burial will occur immediately after the mass at Holy Trinity Cemetery. Memorial contribution may be made to Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, NY. Arrangements entrust to Flanner and Buchanan Zionsville. You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan