Elizabeth S. “Beth” Gilleland, 93, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Thursday, July 4, 2013 at Life Care Center in Fitzgerald.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Sunday, July 7, 2013 at Central United Methodist Church in Fitzgerald with the Rev. B.J. Funk and the Rev. Keith Goodlett officiating. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7-9 Saturday evening at the funeral home.
Mrs. Gilleland was born May 24, 1920, in Winfield, Georgia to the late John Edward and Pearl Bohler Smith. She was graduated from Winfield High School and earned her Bachelors Degree in English, with a minor in Music, from Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina in 1940. She taught school in Thomson for 6 years. Following the tragedy of the Winecoff Hotel Fire in 1946, Mrs. Gilleland moved to Fitzgerald to care for her brother, Dr. J.E. Smith, Jr., whose entire family perished in the blaze. After Dr. Smith remarried, Mrs. Gilleland married Quincy Gilleland and made her life in Fitzgerald. An active member of Central United Methodist Church, she taught the Friendship Sunday school class for over 50 years, played piano for her husband’s Carlyle Sunday school class, and served several terms on the Central Administrative Board as well as various church committees. She was a talented seamstress and helped needlepoint the kneeling cushions in Central’s sanctuary and did handwork on many of Central’s trademark banners as well. She was the last surviving member of the Sew & Sews and was a member of the Fitzgerald Review Club. For almost her entire life, Mrs. Gilleland attended Whiteoak Camp Ground for many events and annual meetings. She had a love for Whiteoak and many major life events centered around her visits there.
She is survived by her sons: Frank & Jeri Gilleland of Fitzgerald and John & Cheri Gilleland of Lilburn; and six grandchildren: Justin Gilleland, Haley Gilleland, Jenna Gilleland, Ryan & Christy Gilleland, Lydia Gilleland, and Erin Gilleland. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers: Thomas Lloyd Smith and Dr. John Edward Smith, Jr.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to Central United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 428, Fitzgerald, GA 31750 or to the Whiteoak Camp Ground, c/o John Gilleland, Trustee, 740 Hambrick Drive, Lilburn, GA 30047.