Charley Dewitt Gililland's Obituary
Charley DeWitt Gililland (Charley) passed peacefully into the arms of his Heavenly Father at age 94 on Thursday morning, Sept. 28, 2017, in Dallas, Texas. Always jovial and friendly, he made friends easily wherever he went. A longtime resident of Richardson, he and his wife Jo were married almost 72 years, and they loved to jitterbug, go to the lake, and be with friends and family.Charley was born on May 21, 1923, in Alba, Woods Co., Texas to John Valentine (Vol) Gililland and Mary Alice Davis Youngblood Bussey Gililland. Vol and Mary Alice were both widowed with 4 children each when they married, so Charley was the ninth and last child.Charley had a fun time growing up in Alba. His mother loved to pamper him, and his father ran “Dad’s Cafe” in Alba and worked a hamburger stand at the Hunt County Fair each year (40 miles from Greenville). Mr. Gililland sang in a quartet and was always fun even through hard times and the Depression. He always had a saying about lemonade – “Made in the shade, stirred with a spade – it’s good enough for any old maid!”Charley was bright and loved at school. He was able to skip a grade (there were only 11 then), and three days after graduating from Alba High School, in 1940, Charley hitched a ride to Greenville where his half-brother, C.B. Bussey, had a job waiting for him at the Rita Theater making $18 a week (there were 5 picture shows at that time in Greenville). He moved in with C.B and his wife Ethel Bolton Bussey.In 1941, Charley moved to Bryan as a projectionist with the Jefferson Amusement Co. (they owned half interest in the 5 theaters in Greenville). He was in the projection room of the Dixie theater on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when the popcorn girl ran in to tell him the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. Charley said, “I didn’t even know where Pearl Harbor was!” The US Army Air Corp was activating Majors Field in Greenville and the recruiting campaign said “Sign Up Now and Be Stationed Close toHome!” So he did! Charley asked to be transferred back to Greenville, and went to work at the Texan Theater because he knew he would soon be enlisting. Quickly, Charley met every kid in Greenville.Charley entered the service of his country in September, 1942. Because of his “M.O.S.”, Military Occupational Specialty, he went into “special services” in the 8th Service Company and was stationed in Greenville, Abilene, Sweetwater, Las Vegas, and Randolph Field, San Antonio. He served as projection manager of the war department theaters and carried USO shows on tour. His job was to coordinate the USO shows with local bases and during the course of his stay with Uncle Sam, Charley met such famous personalities as Dick Powell, Kathryn Grayson, Deanna Durbin, and a real funny guy by the name of Red Skelton. “He was always on,” said Charley of Mr. Skelton.Charley first met Martha Jo Merrick in 1941 on a double date, but they were with other dates. They double-dated several times and then the war started. Charley loved Jo’s zest for life and saw how well she could jitterbug and dance. When he was transferred to Abilene, he realized how much he loved Jo. He called and wrote to her and came back to Greenville on a 3-day pass whenever he could, staying at his parents home in Lone Oak, near Greenville. He would leave his date with Jo at ll:00 p.m. on Sunday nights and drive all night back to Abilene in order to walk through the doors of the base at 7:00 a.m. on Monday mornings.Charley and Jo started talking wedding plans. Jo wanted a pretty garden wedding at her grandmother’s house in the spring, but Charley was discharged in December 1945 and they were married Dec. 30, 1945. Charley couldn’t wait and was “ready to get on with it!”They made their home in Greenville and started a family. Charley worked at the Texan theater from 1945 to 1952, peddled ladies’ underwear and boys’ shorts for one year for Jimmy Jackson, worked for C.B. a while cooking hamburgers, and began working for Jacob E. Decker & Sons Meatpacking Company in April, 1953. In 1960, Charley and Jo moved with their three children to Richardson where they lived until Charley’s death.Charley loved the lake. He and Jo even built a boat from a kit in 1946. He always had a boat and loved Lake Texoma, his boat slip, and all the friends that went with it. He loved music and always loved to dance with Jo. They won many a jitterbug contest when they were young. He was a lifelong Methodist and a Master Mason. He and Jo belonged to the First United Methodist Church in Richardson. He loved God and he loved his country.Charley is survived by his loving wife Jo, daughter Gaye Gililland Thomasson, and husband Larry of Plano, sons John Charles Gililland and wife Lori of McKinney and Judson DeWitt Gililland and wife Michelle of Richardson, 7 grandchildren (Lance, Andrew, Amy, Valerie, Charley, Bryant, and Audrey) and five great grandchildren (Alexis, Austin, Layne, Tate and Maggie).The family will receive friends from 4 – 6:00 pm on Sunday, October 1, 2017 at Restland Funeral Home. Please stop by the reception desk and the staff of Restland will escort you to staterooms N-O.The service for Charley will be at 11:00 am, Monday, October 2, 2017 at Restland Funeral Home in the Memorial Chapel. Following the service, there will be a short procession to the Garden of the Holy Family at Restland Memorial Park for a brief committal service.Arrangements are under the care of Restland Funeral Home located at 13005 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75243.
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