From Caren Daniels-Meade

I will never forget two specific incidences with good ole' Jer.  One was shortly after a new secretary had joined my staff at the Secretary of State's Office and Jerry had come in to get an answer to something.  In his usual way, he was loud and aggressive-sounding, and soon after he'd left my office my secretary had come running in to ask me who that rude man was and why he was yelling at me.  I looked at her, a bit puzzled, and said, "Oh him?  That was just Jerry Gillam from the Los Angeles Times.  He wasn't yelling at me.  That's just the way he sounds.  He's actually a pussycat, and a very sweet man!"

The second more recent incident was one night last basketball season when I still had season tickets to the Kings.  I was at a game and during half-time I was making my usual restroom trip when I noticed a man in a wheelchair a few feet away.  At the time, I was still working for PRIDE Industries, and one thing that had come out of that experience was a new sensitivity and compassion for people with disabilities.  So, instead of ignoring the man in the wheelchair which, sadly, we admittedly all do so often, I decided I was going to look the person in the eye and smile and say hello.  Well, guess who that person was?  It was Jerry Gillam!  He and June were at the game and, ironically, had been seated about 4 rows behind my set of seats.  We hugged and laughed and caught up and it was wonderful to see his continued positive spirit and enthusiasm for life.  

He readily expressed his joy at seeing me and easily told me what a thrill it was to have caught up with me and my life.  I responded in kind, happy for having the chance to show and tell him how I felt about him.

I saw that spirit again at Bob Schmidt's and Bob Fairbanks' 80th birthday party last June.  The man never grew cynical or discouraged, at least not publicly, over his diabetes challenges.  In fact, he'd gotten much more openly emotional over the years and never hesitated to express his true feelings.  I loved and admired him very, very much.  My heart goes out to June and his children and grandchildren.  He was a pillar and a dear friend!
-- Caren Daniels-Meade

From Bud Lembke

That's a real jolt when he seemed to have made a sensational comeback. As you know, I worked with him in the L.A. Times bureau when I first came to Sacramento in 1963. I can't believe he's gone. He was a great guy. Keep me posted on the service.
-- Bud Lembke

From Ron Roach

I am so very sad. Jerry brought so much light and laughter into our lives, even as he battled so courageously and seemed to overcome so much. 

-- Ron Roach

From Bob Schmidt

I know that a year from now, five years from now, when I think about Jerry - and I will - what I will remember first is his laugh. Jerry didn’t have a chuckle or a giggle, he had a laugh, and his whole body shook when he laughed, which was often. Even after he lost his leg.

Certainly Jerry couldn’t have been blamed if he became bitter, or self-pitying, or grumbled out loud “Why me?” when his leg was amputated. He never did.

When he learned that his family had been told that either the leg, which had an infection that could no longer be treated, had to be removed or he would die, and the family had said take the leg, he made sure his family knew he believed they had made the right decision. He liked being alive. 

- Bob Schmidt

From Herbert Sample

Jerry Gillam was a one of a kind. When I started interning at the LA Times Sacramento Bureau in 1981, Jerry became my mentor. It was a bit unnerving for me since Jerry was several inches taller than me and a whole lot more demonstrative.

But he took me under his wing. He introduced me to legislative reporting -- and not the glamorous stuff. He introduced me to stacks and stacks of campaign contribution reports at the FPPC, long before electronic filing, Microsoft Excel and search functions. It was tedious stuff, but it taught me what to look for, who to look for and how detail matters.

He showed me the Capitol, even the dingy temporary quarters of the both houses before they moved into their fancy renovated chambers. He taught me how to cover a legislative session, the people I needed to learn about, the rhythms of the place.

Jerry had a huge heart, a voracious laugh, a smile that was gleaming. I owe him a lot. He was a good man, and I will miss him.

Herbert A. Sample

Remembering our friend Jerry Gillam

Please bring your memories here -- email to revjimr@yahoo.com -- and I will post. Send photos too. 

-- James Richardson