Psychiatrist is found dead
Marvin Gillick apparently hangs self from ceiling beam at San Mateo clinic
BY BARBARA FEDER
Mercury News Staff Writer
A respected psychiatrist -- known as ``Shoshanna'' to his colleagues --
apparently hanged himself Monday in the foyer of a county mental health
clinic in San Mateo.
Stunned co-workers found Dr. Marvin Michael Gillick hanging from a ceiling
beam when they entered the clinic at 7:45 a.m., authorities said.
Gillick, 54, had worked for the outpatient clinic for less than a year, San
Mateo County health chief Margaret Taylor said Wednesday. Gillick's
professional references were ``extraordinary,'' his performance
``excellent,'' she said, noting that no one had raised any concerns about
his well-being before the suicide.
Gillick, who had cross-dressed for about six years, was considering an
operation to become a woman, said his daughter, Hillary Gillick, referring
to her father as ``her.'' He had been let go by Cigna Corp., where he worked
as a staff psychiatrist in Southern California for several years, because he
was ``preoperative'' and apparently violated the dress code there, she said.
``Treatment like that is what led her to do this,'' Hillary Gillick, 25,
said, through tears. ``(Shoshanna was) in pain, internal pain. She obviously
had something upsetting her.''
Neither Gillick's co-workers nor Cigna Corp. officials could be reached for
comment late Wednesday. An autopsy is under way, county coroner Bud Moorman
said.
``The loss of anyone in our profession is a tragic thing,'' Taylor said. ``I
think Dr. Gillick should have the highest regard given (him).''
Gillick was board certified in child and forensic psychiatry. Trained at
Georgetown University, he served as a psychiatrist and drug treatment
counselor in the U.S. Navy in the 1970s and taught psychiatry at the
University of California School of Medicine for more than a decade, Hillary
Gillick said. Gillick also worked with the California Autism Foundation,
treating adults, and with the Los Angeles Unified School District, serving
emotionally disturbed children.
``She loved to work with children,'' the daughter added.
Gillick moved to San Francisco from Southern California after he was fired,
in part, to be near his daughter and to find a more accepting community.
``My father was a kind, wonderful person whose intellect matched her ability
to be gentle and caring,'' Hillary Gillick said. ``She was who she was, and
she was considered a genius by most people who met her. I loved her very
much. There's a piece of my life missing right now.''
The family is requesting contributions be sent in Shoshanna Gillick's name
to the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.,
90035.