Helen "Ruth" Gilliam

Helen Ruth Wilson Gilliam, 94, widow of Lewis Dean Gilliam, died Tuesday June 2, 2026 in Heritage Convalescent Center after a long illness. A funeral service will be held 10:00 AM Thursday, June 4, 2026 at First Baptist Church Chapel, 1208 S. Tyler St., with Rev. Corky Holland officiating. Ruth will be buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery. Arrangements are by Cox-Rowley Funeral Home.

Born October 8, 1931 in Statenville, GA, the eldest daughter of Walter James and Mary Sharpe Wilson, Ruth grew up in Florida where the family moved. She graduated from Ocala (FL) High School in 1950. An active member of the First Baptist Church of Ocala, she worked for several years in the church office and later was assistant comptroller of Munroe Memorial Hospital. Ruth became a very active member of the service club Pilot International, rising to the office of state governor of the organization. Ruth married Dean Gilliam of Amarillo on March 6, 1982 in Ocala and moved with him to Amarillo. She quickly became active in the Amarillo First Baptist Church. She and Dean enjoyed traveling, taking long car trips to most of the US, and even flew to Australia once representing the Pilot Club.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband Dean Gilliam.

Survivors include two sisters, Mary B. Wilson, Lake Park, GA; Rosa Nell Canon, Lexington, KY; three nieces, Priscilla McRae, Crested Butte, CO; Laura Canon, Henderson, NV; and Karen Canon, Albuquerque, NM; a nephew, Gavin Canon, Lexington, KY; a grandnephew, Dante Grasso, Henderson, NV; and two great-granddaughters, Ashleigh Noland, Amarillo, and Amber Richards, Las Vegas.

The family expresses deep and strong gratitude to the church pastors, especially the Rev. Corky Holland, and members, as well as Hospice nurses and others whose care made it possible for her to live at home until a short time before her death.