Jeevan James Pillar

Jeevan James Pillar, age 22, of Sewickley died on October 14 after suffering from a long battle with depression. He was born on September 4, 2000, in Kolkata, India. He was the beloved son of his parents James Pillar (of Regent Square) and Sharon Pillar (of Sewickley). He is also survived by four loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and many others who loved him dearly. Jeevan was a Quaker Valley High School graduate where he played the sax in the band and was a member of the Science Olympiad team both from Middle School through High School. Jeevan (or Jeeves as his friends called him) was also known as the “Weatherman” by many people. Since age 5, when he carried around a cloud identification book, through high school, he had a great passion for weather that he enjoyed sharing with everyone. Jeevan was recently a Penn State University and Community College of Allegheny County student where he routinely made the Dean’s List. He was a talented writer as described by professors and had hoped to finish an economics degree. He was passionate about economic justice and was disturbed by the inequities in our society. Jeevan had a great eye for composition which he used in his photography hobby; he especially enjoyed photographing sunsets and was talented in finding interesting angles in ordinary scenes. Jeevan was known for his infectious smile, sparkling eyes, gentle and sweet nature, his “old-soul” demeanor and insightfulness.

The family will hold a Quaker-style service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills, 2359 West Ingomar Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 from 4:00-7:00 on Saturday, October 22 with service at 4:00 and reception around 5:30. They invite those who cared and loved Jeevan to attend and as willing, share stories, memories, readings, or poems, as the spirit moves them to honor Jeevan’s life and their experiences with him.

In lieu of flowers, Jeevan’s parents encourage you to donate to Unlimited Sciences, a nonprofit research organization that is working with John Hopkins University to study the benefits of therapeutic psilocybin and other psychedelics on mental health. unlimitedsciences.org/donate/  Jeevan was subjected to many psychiatric drugs that did not help him and was adamant that psilocybin should be made available for the treatment of depression based on the decades of positive research results. Jeevan’s brain tissue was donated to UPMC for depression research purposes, for which we hope that his struggles might benefit others.

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