Gilliam, Woodson J.

Woodson Jennings “Woody” Gilliam, passed from this world at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Rescue, Va. on Thursday, August 26, 2010. He was born in Rice, on the outskirts of Farmville, Va., in 1913 to Walter Temple Gilliam and Pearle Bruce Gilliam, and moved to City Point-Hopewell as a young child.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Walter Temple Gilliam Jr., his son, Woodson Jennings Gilliam ,Jr., and his beloved wife, Mary Winston Gilliam .Gilly, as he was affectionately called by his family, leaves behind a daughter, Beverley Gilliam Perry, a devoted son-in-law, John Robert Perry, a granddaughter Lara Perry and her husband, Rick Mercier, of Clayton, N. C. grandsons, Robert Woodson Perry of Rescue and David Winston Perry of Carrboro, N. C., and a great-grandchildren Gabriel Woodson Perry and Maya Gilliam Mercier. He is also survived by nieces Janet Gilliam Jarrett, Robin Gilliam Maiorana and Toni Gilliam Carr, all of Hopewell, Mary Marshall of Cary, N. C. and nephew John Marshall of Clinton, N.C. He was a loyal employee of Hercules Powder Company for over four decades and a member of the First Baptist Church, Friends of the Library and the Weston Manor Foundation . Woodson, his brother and their father struggled during the Depression to acquire the property that later became Point of Rocks Park in Chesterfield County. He will be remembered as a man of integrity, a lifelong learner, a lover of the land and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. The family will receive friends on Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 from 6:30 to 8:00pm at the Hopewell Chapel of J. T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 1:00pm in the funeral home chapel with interment in Sunset Memorial Park, Chester. Memorial gifts may be made to the Hopewell Emergency Crew, Inc., P.O. Box 659, Hopewell, VA. 23860 or your favorite charity. Condolences may be registered with www.jtmorriss.com