Gilliam Claude Bentley, 1912-1991

On January 10, 1912, Gilliam Claude Bentley was born at the family farm in Campbell County, Virginia, the eighth of 10children, five boys and five girls, the son of William Jackson and Susan Rosa Trent Bentley. His elementary education was interrupted when he dropped out of school in 1923, because of the illness of his father, to work on the farm in Charlotte County, where the family had moved. After the death of his father in 1926, the family moved to Roanoke where Gilliam continued to work. In 1928, he entered Ferrum Training School, as it was called then, to catch up on his formal education. While there, his sense of call to the ministry was recognized by the Danville District conference which granted a local preacher's license in April 1929. In 1931, he transferred to Jefferson High School in Roanoke, graduating in 1932.

The call to preach means preparation. The next five years were devoted to concentrated study. He received the B.A. degree from Randolph-Macon College, 1932-35, and the B.D. degree from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Georgia, 1935-37. At Emory he met Alma Kathryne Creighton of Greenwood, South Carolina, a graduate student in the School of Languages, whom he married on December 29, 1937. This union was blessed by three children: Gilliam Dickson, Judith Jackson and Kathryne Creighton. There are 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Gilliam was admitted on probation by the old Baltimore conference in 1937. In 1939, he was received into full connection by the conference, meeting in Roanoke, and was ordained deacon by Bishop William Walter Peele. At the first session of the Virginia  conference after unification, also meeting in Roanoke in 1940, be was ordained elder by Bishop Peele. While a student at Randolph-Macon, he was supply pastor at Kenwood, Richmond, District, 1934-35. Other appointments included: Fincastle, 1937-41; Epworth, Covington, 1941-45; Hamilton-Purcellville, 1945-49; Highland Springs, Richmond, 1949- 55; Memorial, Petersburg, 1955-59; High Street, Franklin, 1959-63; Front Royal, 1963-67; Memorial, Virginia Beach, 1967-69; Sabbatical, 1969-70; West Point, 1970-74; Disability Leave, 1974-77; Retired, 1977.

His service beyond the local church included: member Alexandria District Committee on the Development of Camp High Road, 1946-49, and business manager of the first youth summer camp; District Missionary Secretary on the Petersburg, Portsmouth and Winchester districts, and member of the conference Board of Missions, for 10 years; conference delegate to the National Mission Tour of the West Indies, 1957; member Petersburg District Committee on Building & Location, and Ministerial Qualifications,1955-59; and member of the conference Commission on Higher Education, 1963-66.

Skilled in tennis, Gilliam played in numerous tournaments as a young man and until he was 60 could beat his son. Also, he was an avid fisherman. He loved gardening and was generous in sharing the vegetables he raised. A major interest was a cottage on the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay at Foxwells, built in large part by members of the family.

A heart attack necessitated his taking disability leave in 1974. At that time he and his wife Kitty bought a home in West Point where they continued to live during retirement He sang in the choir and was helpful wherever possible, always supportive of the pastor. In October 1991, he had multiple bypass surgery at Riverside Hospital in Newport News and returned home, apparently in stable condition. On Sunday morning, December 1, 1991, his wife discovered that he had died in his sleep.

A memorial service was held at West Point Church, where he had invested so much of himself, on Tuesday evening, December 3, at 7 o'clock, led by the pastor, the Rev. David B. Lewis. The next day, which was cold, windy, sunny, his ashes were interred at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Roanoke. A graveside service at 2 o'clock was conducted by the Rev. Walter M. Lockett, Jr. and the pastor.

Gilliam enjoyed life. He was a faithful and effective witness to the abundant life we have in Christ Jesus. "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21).

-Walter M. Lockett, Jr.