Gary Dean Tillman, 79 of Evans, Georgia, passed away on Thursday April 28, 2022 at Piedmont Hospital, Augusta, Georgia. Gary was born May 18, 1942 in Logan, Ohio, the son of the late Daniel Dean and Dorothy Mae (Zimmer) Tillman. Gary was a 1961 graduate of Piqua Central High School and he served his country in the United States Navy.
Gary loved to work in the yard, spent many hours making a beautiful landscape of flowers. People would stop and take pictures of our yard. Gary took after his Grandpa Tillman with the love of flowers, and animals. Gary loved to fix everything; he learns from his dad how to repair things that were broken. Gary also, was a mechanical repairing, he did repair cars in his younger years, however it became more of the yard and garden equipment repair.
On April 9, 2022, we lost our beloved therapy Doberman Ed, and it took a hard toll on Gary, we still have his smaller Doberman Kim. Every morning he wash their faces and cleaned their eyes. Even though he had been fighting this Mantle Cell Lymphoma for almost two years, his fur babies were the highlight of his life. If we could have, he would have taken in any fur baby that needed a home.
Gary was a quiet man, until you got to know him, funny and loved to tease. Gary’s kindness and gentle nature showed though to many, as people would often tell me how lucky I was to find such a kind person.
Our 59 years of marriage was wonderful, full of trials and tribulations, with our love we had and God’s love, we made it through each day, it is unbelievable how much love can grow bigger and bigger, however it did. A true soul mate, from a blind date to the very end. TRUST… my word from Jesus, will get me through this difficult time.
Gary is preceded in death by his parents.
Gary is survived by his wife Kay Tillman of Evans, Georgia; his sisters and brother in law: Jane and Steve Schultz Piqua, and Barbara Tillman of Piqua; his nephews: Matt Schultz, and Andrew Brush; his niece: Jenny and Greg Tobias; and his special cousins: Michael Mudrey and David and Carolyn Zimmer, and many other cousins whom he loved.
Graveside services will be held on Monday May 9, 2022 at Forest Hill Cemetery, Piqua, Ohio with Pastor Keith Gephart officiating. The family will receive friends from 12:00 PM until 1:00 PM on Monday at Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, Greenville, Ohio. Veterans graveside services will be conducted by the Greenville Veteran’s Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to help offset funeral expenses.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.zecharbailey.com for the Tillman family.