Majors Brian and Loretta Gilliam retire after combined 88 years’ service
Majors Brian and Loretta Gilliam receive their retirement certificate from Major Terry Israel. Session flagbearers are Major Libby Duracher and Lt. Colonel Jim Arrowood. Major Owen Gilliam delivered a dedicatory prayer.
Majors Brian and Loretta Gilliam retire after combined 88 years' service
By: Major Frank Duracher
Celebrating "Joy In Our Journey," Majors Brian and Loretta Gilliam were saluted during a Sunday worship service at the Hendersonville, North Carolina, Corps, attended by family, friends, corps members, volunteers and advisory board members. The retirement ceremony had to be moved from one month earlier due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Major Terry Israel presented the official retirement certificate, thanking the Majors Gilliam for a combined total of 88 years as active Salvation Army officers. Both session flags provided the backdrop with flagbearers Major Libby Duracher (Soldiers Of The Cross) and Lt. Colonel Jim Arrowood (Companions Of Christ).
Other program participants included: Roy Snelson, Major Dorothy Sipe, Major Donna Israel, Captain Lauren Boatman, Alexis Boatman, Major Owen Gilliam, Major Cheryl Grider and Major Roger Coulson. Following the morning meeting, a barbecue dinner was hosted by the Sons of the Savior Motorcycle Ministry.
Majors Brian and Loretta were childhood friends and sweethearts at their home corps in Weirton, West Virginia. They entered Evangeline Booth College two years apart, and were married on June 11, 1977, after both had been commissioned. For the two years between Loretta's commissioning and their marriage, she served in Augusta and Columbus, Georgia.
As a married couple, they were corps officers in Moundsville, Martinsburg, Bluefield, and Parkersburg, West Virginia; Baltimore (South) and Salisbury, Maryland; Memphis (Ben Lear), Tennessee; Henderson, Kentucky; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Tampa, Florida; and Hendersonville, North Carolina. On the training college staff, they served as field training officer and Family Life Center director from 1997-1999. They moved from there to Nashville, Tennessee, as area commanders from 1999-2003, then on to divisional staff appointments in Texas from 2005-2013.
An outstanding teacher and proponent of the Word, Major Brian was a member of the National Seminar on Evangelism faculty from 2010-2015.
They have one daughter, Captain Lauren Boatman, and two grandchildren. Effective retirement date is July 1, 2020, residing at 30557 Summer Sun Loop, Wesley Chapel, Florida 33545.