Geraldine A. Gillam

November 14, 1935 ~ March 12, 2022

Geraldine (Jerri) Gillam passed away peacefully on March 12, 2022. She was 87 years old. She was the daughter of Harold and Amelia Amspoker.

Visitation will be from 9-10 A.M. on Saturday, March 19, 2022, with Funeral Services beginning at 10:00 A.M. at Wyuka Funeral Home. Pastor Tom Rempel will be officiating. Burial will follow in Wyuka Cemetery and a reception will be held at Wyuka’s Garden Room. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in care of the family to be set aside for a brick dedicated to Jerri and Dick’s first date at the Sunken Gardens.

Jerri lived her life as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.

In her early years, Jerri took everyone’s breath away with her beauty as a Pageant queen. She was a ballerina when she was young. She loved roller skating and worked at Circle Drive Inn as a carhop on roller skates. As a young woman, she stole the heart of a young boxer, Dick Gillam, on their first date at Sunken Gardens. They were married on November 12, 1954. After they married, their early years included camping at Linoma beach, swimming, and roller skating.

Jerri’s children reminisced that their mother loved the color blue. In fact, Jerri had a blue house with a blue interior; she drove a blue car and owned blue clothes. She had five children with her husband, and they had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They loved them all very much.

Jerri always looked forward to family trips, especially Las Vegas casinos, and she loved Elvis. She was a dedicated bowler and went out with her husband every New Year’s Eve.

Jerri enjoyed milk, Hershey’s candy bars, and Dr. Pepper every day. Throughout her life, she was a Husker football fan. She also liked Colorado Bulldogs but didn’t drink them often. Jerri had a great sense of humor that lasted her lifetime.

She spent a significant portion of their marriage as a caretaker for her husband until he passed away; Jerri mentioned she missed him often and continued to live an independent life.

Her daughters recalled how she watched squirrels in her yard and named one “Baby”. She understood current events, read the paper daily, watched soap operas, and liked coloring books. When she moved to an assisted living home, she asked about her squirrel and continued coloring books. She looked forward to her weekly Sunday Jeep drives with her son, reminisced about her younger years, and critiqued him on his driving.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dick Gillam; daughters Linda and Cathy; her sister, and parents.

Jerri is survived by her three children Chris McCullough, Janice Hall, and Randy Gillam; brother Robert “Bob” Amspoker, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.