Gordon P. Gillis, who managed the financial affairs of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) for decades, died on Feb. 17 at the Woburn Nursing Home.

Gillis, 96, came to Harvard in 1917, when he got a part-time job -- paying 12.5 cents an hour -- alphabetizing library catalogue cards that had been scattered by an overturned cart en route to the just-completed Widener Library.

He remained at Harvard until his retirement in 1969, rising to financial assistant to the Dean of the FAS. He received an honorary degree from the University in 1967.

"Despite holding a position that often involved saying 'no,' he was highly respected, even loved, by all who knew him -- and there were few in the FAS who did not," recalled Edward "Pat" Pattullo, retired director of the Center for the Behavioral Sciences.

"Far from being a green eyeshade, he was a lively and engaging person who was much appreciated and enjoyed by many members of this Faculty," said John B. Fox Jr., Secretary of the Faculty. "He was a stalwart at a once-important venue, the long table at the Faculty Club, where he kept many of the intellectual titans of the Faculty thoroughly amused with his tales of this place."

Donations may be made in Gillis' memory to the charity of one's choice.