Julian Gilliam

JULIAN GILLIAM was a successful businessman; a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather; a wonderful story-teller; an avid gardener, hiker, and fisherman. He died peacefully at his home in Little Rock on May 16th, less than a month shy of his 95th birthday. He was born on June 14, 1920 in Forrest City to James Mullen Gilliam and Louise Gatling Gilliam. He often entertained friends and family with enthralling stories of his mischievous childhood in and around Forrest City, where he learned to hunt and fish with his father, older brother Henry, and many cousins. Gilliam's education was cut short by WWll. He signed up to be a radio operator, but was recruited to train as a fighter pilot with the Army Air Corps. After earning his wings, he was stationed first in Panama and then in Burma with the Second Air Commando Group. He flew 62 combat missions over Burma and Thailand and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. One vivid story of his wartime adventures was of landing a plane that had been badly shot up, so much so that he had gotten out of the cockpit onto the wing to parachute to safety, but decided at the last minute that he should save the plane. He crawled back into the cockpit, and managed to land safely without losing the P-39. After the war, Gilliam joined his older brother, Henry, to start a ready-mix concrete business in El Dorado, Ark. It was also in El Dorado that he met Hope Wadsworth, originally from Westfield, N.J. They married in 1950, and had two daughters, Betsy Hall Gilliam and Julie Blount Gilliam. His daughters remember his droll sense of humor, so conspicuous in the clever woodland characters he invented to populate their bedtime stories. Recognizing that El Dorado's economy could not continue to support both growing families, Gilliam decided to expand to Little Rock. He relocated his family and launched the new division of Gilliam Brothers. The business prospered, and he was able to expand operations to three plants. In the early 1980's Gilliam constructed a port on the Arkansas River to handle cement for the growing business, and started a real estate and construction affiliate to take advantage of opportunities in the concrete tilt-up market. He sold Gilliam Brothers and retired in 1986. Inspired by the landscape and culture of Northern New Mexico on the way home from a ski trip in Colorado, Gilliam and his wife, an accomplished artist, bought a house in Santa Fe in 1975, where they spent much of their time through the 80's and 90's. He hiked, fished, and camped and she painted. It was there and on a small ranch in Vallecitos, N.M., that friends and family gathered for two decades. He leaves his daughters, Betsy Gilliam Trapp of Atlanta, Ga., and Julie Gilliam Roth of Boston, Mass.; five grandchildren, and one great grandchild. His wife of 58 years died in 2008. The family would especially like to recognize and thank Debra Anderson, his long-time and devoted care-giver and Theresa Vogelpohl, MNSc, RN of Eldercare Decisions, his wise and patient geriatric care manager. A memorial service will take place on Friday, June 12th at 2 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Nature Conservancy. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.