Bob Jessie Gilman, prominent longtime resident of Dyer county, died at his home at 5:30 o'-clock this morning. He was 89.

Mr. Gilman's body is lying in state at his home at Unionville until time for funeral services. Final rites will be said at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon,Wednesday, at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Unionville. His pastor, the Reverend Tommy Rose, and the Reverend E.C. Cutlipp, will officiate.

Burial will be in the Mt. Vernon Cemetery with Bud Baker, Joe Borum, Murray Borum, Raymond Jennings, R.P.(Robert Perry) Mahon and Roy Hall serving as pallbearers. J.W.Curry and Sons will have charge of arrangements.

Born in Virginia, Mr. Gilman was the son of the late C.P.(Cornelius Pleasant) Gilman and Sophia Letitia Houston Gilman, natives of Virginia. He had spent the past 70 years of his life in Dyer County where he was active in religous, civic and poliltical affairs of the community, county and state. He was a deacon of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. His wife, Mrs. Mollie Mahon Gilman, died in 1955.

He is survived by two daughters, Miss Ruth Gilman,Unionville and Mrs. Clarence David Gean, Blytheville, Arkansas; a son Otho B. Gilman, Memphis, two sisters, Mrs. Elma Baker, Dyerburg and Mrs. Lizzie Wagster, Unionville; three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Tuesday April 15,1958

Providence endows some with vision.

This ability to see that which is seen otherwise than ordinary sight provides us with our inventors,and our discoverers and explorers.

It also gives us our artists and sculptors, our poets and prophets.

Vision gives us our appreciation of home and country, our loyalities and family co-hesion.

B.J. Gilman died this past week at his home sounth of Dyersburg. Not many people in this part of West Tennessee are expected to know him.

Yet, he gave throughout his life concrete proof of his vision, proof which may be found in the love of his family, the esteem of his neighbors and friends.

We first knew him in the summer of 1912 when he met us in Dyersburg to take us for a visit to his home.

A horse-mule team pulled the wagon in which we rode the six miles, over unpaved roads, through Forked Deer River and creek bottoms and over sharp red hill of that section.

City reared in lush valleys surrounded by high mountains, the Dyer county land-scape appeared to us fully as drab and uninviting as its much erroded hills looked desolate. Nor did the summer heat and accompanying swarm of flies ass pleasure to the prospect facing us.

Then, just before his homeplace came into view, Mr. Gilman stopped the team at the crest of a ridge and, moving his arm in a wide arc, he said:

" Just look at that-- the beautiful hills of West Tennessee. You'll never see a more wonderful place in which to live."

He must have carried his vision with him throughout the 89 year of his life, for he toiled and planned to enlarge his farm and to lead the community in better methods of producing larger crops while benefitting the soil.

Nor did his spirit ever seem to waver in it's belief that he lived in the most wonderful place on earth.

We have gained from the vision of this gentel man. Perhaps others may have a new appreciation of our West Tennessee by having lived there.