Cheryl J. Gilliam, 74, passed away Monday, June 6, 2022, at her home in Pope.

Funeral services will be held at noon on Friday, June 10,  in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with the interment to follow at Forrest Memorial Park. The family will receive friends two hours prior the service beginning at 10 a.m.

Cheryl was born on April 5, 1948 to the late Thomas Benjamin Bell and Doris Jean Miller Bell in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. Cheryl earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Education from Mississippi State University. She enjoyed teaching children for 34 years before she retired. Cheryl loved shopping, reading books, watching hallmark movies, and playing with her grandchildren. She also loved listening to 60’s music. Cheryl was a member of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Greenville.

The family she leaves behind includes her husband of 53 years who loved and cared for her dearly, Joe A. Gilliam of Pope; her daughter, Jennifer Gilliam Collins (Ben) of Germantown, TN; her son, Joe A. “Alan” Gilliam, Jr. (Kim) of Madison; one brother, Thomas Eugene Bell of Tucson, AZ; and four grandchildren, Isabella Borgos, Anthony Borgos, Scarlett Collins, and Addison Collins.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Cheryl’s name can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.