Edward Gillis

Edward "Eddie" Gerard Gillis was an American operations manager best known as the plant manager of Third Man Pressing, the Detroit vinyl record manufacturing facility owned by his younger brother, the musician Jack White. Born into a large Detroit family, Gillis was the eighth of ten children; Jack White, born John Anthony Gillis, was one of his younger siblings. Eddie Gillis spent years working behind the scenes in the vinyl industry, overseeing day to day operations at Third Man Pressing, which White's Third Man Records opened in Detroit in 2017 to press records for a wide range of artists and labels.

While he did not seek the public profile that his famous brother carried, Gillis was known within the Detroit music and manufacturing community as a steady, well liked presence who helped keep one of the city's few remaining vinyl pressing operations running. He had also spoken publicly, including in a 2024 podcast interview, about his role overseeing the plant and the craft of vinyl manufacturing. Those who knew him described him as warm, humorous and generous, qualities that would be echoed widely in tributes after his death.

Gillis was married to his wife, Angie, and the couple had two children, Amelia and Garrett. He was remembered by friends not only as a dedicated worker but as a family man and lifelong Detroiter with simple, lasting passions, among them fishing on the Detroit River and following the Detroit Red Wings.

Edward Gillis died on October 23, 2026, after a battle with cancer. He was 60 years old. His death was announced the following day by Jack White in an emotional Instagram post, in which White wrote that <cite index="2-1">"My brother Edward Gerard Gillis has passed over to heaven this morning after having fought a tough battle against cancer."</cite> White described his brother as <cite index="1-3">"such a caring, funny and generous person that everybody loved"</cite> and credited him with teaching him practical skills in childhood, recalling that Eddie had shown him <cite index="5-1">"how to string a guitar, how to fish on the Detroit river, how to drive a stick shift."</cite>

The announcement prompted an outpouring of condolences from fans of Jack White and from people in the Detroit music scene who had known Eddie through his long association with Third Man Records. No details of a funeral or public memorial service had been released as of this writing, and the family has not disclosed the specific type of cancer he had.