of Little Rock, AR

October 8, 1930 - October 21, 2023

Shortly after celebrating her 93rd birthday, Dorothy Gilliam, affectionately known as "Nana," went to her eternal home with Jesus on October 21, 2023.

Dorothy was a lover of people. She had the special gift of making everyone she met feel accepted and welcomed, as if they belonged. She extended a love that was free from demands and manipulation. She saw the brokenness in people, and in the world, but remained compassionate and hopeful, confident that God was at work reconciling all things to Himself.

Dorothy, the oldest of four children, was born just outside of Huntsville, AL to Louise and Carlton Callahan. She credited the friends she made while working as a receptionist for the FBI in Washington D.C., for encouraging her to grow deeper in her Christian faith and which eventually led her to attend Harding University. While at Harding, she met and married the love of her life, Bob Gilliam. They were married on April 1, 1954, loving, and honoring each other throughout their 63 years of marriage.

Her days were full, working in the home as a mother to three children, while Bob pursued his vocation as a professor at Harding and later at Pepperdine University. Dorothy loved to co-host college students in their home, offering home-cooked food and a listening ear. Outside the home, she spent most of her 30-year real estate career as a broker with REMAX Realty in Thousand Oaks, CA. She excelled in real estate because of her outgoing, caring personality and helped many young couples purchase their first home, often extending personal loans for their down payment. The excitement of retirement was tempered by the news of the untimely death of their youngest son, Roy Gilliam, in 1993. Shortly after Roy's death, Bob and Dorothy left Malibu, CA and moved to Hot Springs Village, AR to be closer to their son, David Gilliam and his family in Little Rock.

Dorothy was an avid tennis player, weightlifter, and hiker. She competed in doubles tennis as part of a Hot Springs Village USTA team. She stopped playing competitive tennis in 2008 but continued weight-lifting at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ Fitness Center until she was 91 years of age. Dorothy loved being outdoors, and spending time with her grandchildren. She was always ready for an adventure and hosted "cousins camp" at her home multiple summers.

She inspired many by the way she loved and lived life to the fullest. Perhaps most admirable was the way she cared for and served Bob when he began to show signs of memory impairment in 2006, prompting their move to Parkway Village in Little Rock in 2008. The supportive community at Parkway Village, along with the opportunity to expand her activities to include water volleyball, helped maintain her quality of life. She and Bob were known as the "Bear" and the "Bride"; often seen holding hands or giving each other a warm embrace.

Dorothy was loved well by her family and friends and blessed to have caring, skillful caregivers who supported her independence, walking the trails at Pinnacle Mountain and desire to participate in church and Bible study. Their support kept her active and involved, which was particularly important after her move to Parkway Heights Assisted Living. She experienced a richness in life that few ninety-year-olds experience.

Dorothy's life will be celebrated on Friday, December 8, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, AR where Dorothy was an active member for 16 years.

Dorothy is survived by her children and their spouses, Priscilla and Holden MacRae, David and Vanessa Gilliam, and daughter-in-law Lisette Osborne and her husband Earney Osborne, as well as grandchildren and their spouses, Micala and Dan Clark, Manali and James Lindsey, Cameron Gilliam, Whitney Gilliam and her husband Will Martinez, Tricia and Carl Schulze, Nathan and Jaime Gilliam, and Zachary Osborne, as well as great-grandchildren, CJ Schulze, Caleb, Rachael, Asa, Seth and Hannah Gilliam, Ellie and Jude Osborne, Everett Clark, and twin grandsons, Weston and Lucas Lindsey. Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Gilliam, and their son, Roy Gilliam.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to one of the following non-profits.

Hope4theOrphan
https://www.hope4theorphan.org/

Iron Rose Sisters Ministry
https://ironrosesister.com/
P.O. Box 1351
Searcy, Arkansas 72145

Pleasant Valley Church of Christ
https://www.pvcc.org/give/

Obituary Provided By:
Roller-Chenal Funeral Home
13801 Chenal Parkway
Little Rock, AR  72211
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com