Jon Gailmor, a longtime Vermont folk musician and radio host, died in New Orleans on Sunday, a year and a half after he was diagnosed with leukemia. His family announced his death on social media, noting that Gailmor died surrounded by loved ones, “with his music playing and his family singing along.” He was 77.
“Some people are described as larger than life,” read the post from Gailmor’s children. “Our dad was perfectly sized for it. If you had a conversation with him, you felt special, and you left the conversation knowing you were heard and seen.”
A former Polydor Records recording artist, Gailmor moved to Vermont from New York City in 1977 and became a staple of the Green Mountain folk scene. He was often found in those days playing at clubs such as M.J. Friday’s in Montpelier and his favorite, the R.W. Hunt Mill & Mining Company in Burlington — known colloquially as Hunt’s — where he would eventually meet his future wife, Cathy Murphy.
He started playing music for kids in the late ’70s and launched his own radio show called “Just Kidding” on WNCS-FM the Point and WDEV-AM. The show ran for 23 years, bringing music and lessons in songwriting to generations of Vermont kids.
“The message of ‘Just Kidding’ was that we shouldn’t lose our childishness,” Gailmor told Seven Days in 2024, shortly before he moved to New Orleans to be closer to his family. “The world does its best to complicate everything, and you have to work not to lose those secrets you inherently knew as a kid.”
Gailmor died listening to the words of “Gonna Die With a Smile If It Kills Me,” which he wrote: “I’m gonna die with a smile if it kills me / gonna guzzle life’s wine til it fills me / because today might be my last dawnbreaker / and if tonight I meet my maker, gonna dress all up and take her on the town.”
A celebration of Gailmor’s life will be held in May, according to his family.
