Eddie Linwood Gilliam

EDDIE LINWOOD GILLIAM, age 89, entered into eternal rest on September 13, 2023, at Autumn Lake Healthcare in Pikesville, Maryland. He was one of nine children born on January 23, 1934, in Dinwiddie County Virginia, to the late Eddie and Estelle Watkins Gilliam. Eddie graduated in 1952 from Dinwiddie Training School in Dinwiddie, Virginia, where he met his loving wife of 69 years, Kathryn Louise Coley. He established his relationship with Christ at a tender age at his family’s home church, Shiloh Baptist in Dinwiddie, Virginia. When he moved to Baltimore, Maryland to seek better economic opportunities, he later became a member of the Mount Pleasant Church and Ministries, where he shared his passion for singing in the vocal choir, and mass choir. He was also a member of a male chorus. Eddie had a passion for barbering, so much so that he began cutting hair at the age of 14 around his neighborhood. He went on to become a master barber and perfecting his skill at various barbershops. He ultimately established his own barbershop, Gill’s Unisex, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was known for his humor, big heart, and immense love for his family. Besides his parents, Eddie was preceded in death by his brothers, Joseph Gilliam and Clem Gilliam, his sisters, Vernell Gilliam, Kathleen Gilliam Byer, Grace Gilliam Beard, and Gloria Gilliam Pride, and his daughters, Linda Gilliam Bembury and Donette Lisa Gilliam. He leaves to cherish his loving memory: devoted wife, Kathryn Louise Gilliam of Pikesville, MD; his son, Derrick Cornell Gilliam of Pikesville, MD and daughter, Debbie Teresa Gilliam (twin to Donette) of Baltimore, MD; grandchildren, Alvin Kurt Bembury of Chesapeake, VA, Brandi Stroud (Kareem) of North Hollywood, CA, Carmen Gilliam of Queens, NY, Judy Turner (Lyn) of Villa Rica, GA, Derek Gilliam of Tampa, FL, Mya Gilliam of Tampa, FL, Ciara Gilliam of Pittsburgh, PA, and Amber Reid of Pikesville, MD; great-grandson, Christian Bembury of Chesapeake, VA; sisters, Lucille Gilliam Downes of Chester, VA and Mary Gilliam Whitaker of Pikesville, MD; sisters-inlaw, Shirley Gilliam of Queens, NY, Doris Gilliam of Baltimore, MD, Janice Byrd of Upper Marlboro, MD, Marguerita Ragsdale of Washington, DC, Yvonne Nichols (Frank) of Spotsylvania, VA, Marion Ragsdale of Woodbury, MN, and Ursula Powell (James) of Glen Allen, VA; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Tributes

Eddie Linwood Gilliam

January 23, 1934 - September 13, 2023