My Grandfather, Billy Gilman..

My grandfather was born William James Gilman, III, on January 20th, 1914 in Richmond, Virginia- to William James Gilman Jr, and Blanche Taylor (King) Gilman.  He had a younger sister named Alice. They called him "Billy" for short. Its interesting that there is a Country singer with the same name today . My grandfather was a very independent sort. He wanted to be an actor, or a writer, or a politician, or all three! As he went through college (Richmond Polytechnic Institute- now commonly known as "VCU"), he discovered writing is what he wanted to do. He never quite finished school there.  He once said to a close friend: "Why waste time on some four green acres? That is all college is to me".

Despite his talent for writing, he also had a penchant for gambling. It  all started when he was a young teenager, and a man told him to bet on a horse race . The horse he bet on won. That started his gambling problem. When he was a young man of twenty-three, he married my grandmother Catherine Skelton, also of Richmond. Her father was very adamant that they not see each other, because Billy was sewing his "wild oats". They were actually paired up on a blind date by Catherine's younger sister, Jane. Out of deliberate rebellion, the two eloped and went to Maryland to get married. This was in 1936. A year later, my mother would be born.

My grandfather continued to try and support the family. His relatives had him working steadily, mainly in the retail market. My grandmother started showing signs of mental illness, putting a stress on their marriage. She had to be admitted to a mental hospital in Staunton. This later  would lead to a divorce. My grandfather continued to support his family but more often than not, he ran into "trouble". Because of large gambling debts, he ended up appropriating money from the company he worked for. His uncle had to bail him out, and he was ordered to leave town. He entered World War II late , around  Spring, 1944. He was in his early 30s at the time, and the reason being later in service was because he "had a wife and child to support". During the end of 1944, he entered a horse race with an Italian officer. Broke his leg, and had to return home. He did serve his country, though!



                               

                                                 

                               My grandfather as a young  boy with his mother, Blanche.


It wasn't until later in life that my grandfather finally straightened himself out. Fleeing to Petersburg, Virginia ( a nearby city that many disenfranchised Richmonders solemnly called home), he began to turn his life around. He married a second time. His second wife had a great head for business, and she also encouraged him to stop his gambling. At this point, my grandfather was also reported to have become a born -again Christian. He got a job with Ft Lee,  working for A.L.M.A.C. He wrote and produced Army training videos. He was a very conservative man, also. When John F. Kennedy was elected he was outraged. He said to a local newspaper:  "The streets of Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia will turn red with the blood of protestants!". Granddaddy wanted nothing to do with the Ku Klux Klan, however. He thought they were too liberal! (They were Democrats, after all)


                                                         

                                              Billy Gilman (Center) Working at Ft Lee 

In about 1973, he was ready to retire to Florida. Being a heavy smoker, he had already had been diagnosed with emphysema.  One day in the summer of 1973 , while cutting the grass, he suffered a heart attack. Experiencing chest pains, he rested for awhile. Later he went back outside to "finish the job". He collapsed in his front yard. His wife, Aylett, called the hospital for an ambulance.He didn't die until he was at the hospital. There were rumors that a certain male nurse working at the Southside Regional hospital in Petersburg, had  been the "angel of death":pulling the tubes on people, or administering drugs to put them to perpetual rest. It is a theory that my grandfather could have been one of his victims. But we may never know. He died at only 59 years of age. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond in the King Family crypt- that belonging to his mother's side.