Sylvia Gillis mourned by Bricker colleagues, clients and construction industry friends

Bricker attorneys and staff members mourn the loss of friend and colleague Sylvia Gillis, who passed away on May 17, 2020, after a hard-fought battle against cancer. Sylvia was an esteemed construction attorney and a more than 30-year member of the firm.

Sylvia graduated from Northern Arizona University in 1975 and then completed her Master’s Degree at the University of Washington. She earned her J.D. with honors from The Ohio State University in 1989, where she was managing editor of the Ohio State Law Journal. Having previously worked with Bricker & Eckler as a legal assistant, Sylvia returned to Bricker as an attorney after being admitted to the Ohio bar. She is one of the first two attorneys to join Mike Holman in building the firm’s construction practice. Sylvia focused on growing the education and library sectors of the construction group, which, today, is the group’s largest client base.

With several military family members, including her husband Eric and daughter Rachel, who is currently serving in the United States Navy, Sylvia was a proud supporter of the armed forces and her country. A wife and mother, she was also an early trailblazer of part-time work arrangements, becoming the firm’s first part-time partner and later transitioning to full-time partner status. Please join us and her loving husband Eric Tarbox, daughter Rachel, son John and parents in remembering Sylvia.

Sylvia was loved both personally and professionally by clients, the construction professionals she encountered and the trade associations with which she worked. Sylvia is known for and remembered by always leading the efforts to offer assistance and support to her colleagues in need. She is celebrated for her many accomplishments and will be missed by her Bricker family.