A grave side service for Wilma Ballard Gilmer will be held at 9:00am on Thursday, 6/01/2017 from Radney Funeral Home, followed by a committal service at the grave site.
Wilma Lee Ballard Gilmer
Born December 9, 1926 in Hamilton, Alabama, Mrs. Gilmer was a resident of Chickasaw, Alabama from 1956 until she came to live with her daughter, Jennifer Bru, in the Turnerville community of the greater Mobile area. She passed away on Sunday morning, May 29th, 2017 after a year-long struggle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She died peacefully at home with surviving family and friends close at hand.
She was the oldest of four siblings who were orphaned in 1934 when she was nine years of age. This was during the time of the Great Depression when her father died in an accident on Wheeler Dam and her mother died shortly afterwards of pneumonia. The remainder of the family's childhood years were spent in Hamilton, Alabama with grandparents. As an orphan, Wilma became "mama" and caregiver to her fellow siblings, and this was a theme to be repeated throughout her life. Many times, with many individuals and in many ways, she became caregiver to extended family members and others. Before her senior year of high school Wilma married Loyd Thompson Gilmer of Sulligent, Alabama. Both attended business college in Nashville, TN and then worked in Detroit during the war years. After the war ended, the couple settled in Mobile, Alabama where they spent the rest of their lives. Husband, Loyd, worked at Delchamps until he retired and Mrs. Gilmer worked as a procurement clerk at Brookley Air Force Base until it closed. They were both long time members of Chickasaw First Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Loyd Thompson Gilmer, and her sister, Faye Fikes. She is survived by her son Jerome and his wife Pattie and grandson, Devin; her daughter, Jennifer Bru, her husband Michael Bru Sr; their children, Windy & spouse Brian Ferguson, and grandsons, Jacob and Noah; son, Michael Jr. & spouse, Jennifer, grandchildren Kacie and Matthew; son, Robbie Ray & spouse Lydia, granddaughters Paige, Claire, and Lyla; son, John Zachariah, spouse Courtney, granddaughter Zoey; a sister, Betty Johnson of Dallas, Georgia, and a brother, Robbie Ray Ballard of Bay Minnette.
Mrs. Gilmer was a woman who fought to maintain her independence right up to her final days. She was loving, kind and generous but also strong willed and tough when she felt it necessary. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was a marvelous story teller. She will be fondly remembered by all who loved and were loved by her.
A graveside service will be held at Mobile Memorial Gardens at 9:00 AM on Thursday, June 1st. Memorial donations in Mrs. Gilmer's name may be made to "Wings Of Life" in Mobile, Alabama at http://www.wings-of-life.com.
Interment arrangements by Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Mausoleum, 6100 Three Notch Rd., Mobile, AL 36619 | 251-661-1333