Rev. Dr. John H. Gillison

Reverend Dr. John Harold Gillison died Wednesday, October 21st, at his residence in Columbia, SC. Funeral services will be held 10AM, Thursday, October 29th, at the Mother Emanuel AME Church 110 Calhoun Street in Charleston, SC, with Interment at Zion AME Church Cemetery located in Hendersonville SC. Rev. Dr. Gillison will be placed in the church for public viewing from 9:00 AM until the hour of service. Dr. Gillison will be available for public viewing on Wednesday from 12:00 noon until 8:00 PM at the Palmer Memorial Chapel.. The family will receive friends Wednesday, October 28t, 2015 at a visitation from 6 to 8pm, with an Alphi Phi Alpha Omega Service beginning at 6 PM also at the Palmer Memorial Chapel, 1200, Fontaine Place, Columbia SC. Reverend Dr. John Harold Gillison grew up in a loving, nurturing family. The call to preach had been stirring the mind and warming his heart for some time prior to the moment when he received his license to preach. Many individuals in the community had detected ministerial qualities in him at a very early age. The environment that nurtured him played a unique role in molding his ministerial aspiration. His father, Reverend George Washington Gillison, was a minister in the AME Church for many years. Several of his uncles and cousins were pastors. As a boy, Reverend Gillison would come home from church and imitate his father in a creative worship service with young cousins and friends. Many of the adults frequently called him “L ittle Rev.” Reverend Gillison was thirteen years old when his father died. However, he was blessed with a wonderful Christian mother, Myrtis, who kept her son focused on the positive things of life. Because of her influence, sacrificial support, and appreciation of education, Reverend Gillison graduated from Allen University with a B.A. degree. He received the Master of Divinity degree from Turner Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied at Emory University and the University of South Carolina. Allen University honored him with the D.D. degree in 1975. It was in Hendersonville, South Carolina at the Quarterly Conference at Zion AME Church that he was questioned and received the necessary votes to be licensed to preach. The pastor was Reverend St. Julian Heyward. The presiding elder was Dr. J. B. Jennings who served over the Beaufort District. He was ordained an itinerant deacon and elder by Bishop S. R. Higgins. Reverend Gillison distinguished himself in many endeavors. Vocationally he taught in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Allen University, in the School of Religion at Morris College in Sumter, and in the extension school at Morris College in Charleston. In 1978, Reverend Gillison was elected President of the Christian Action Council for South Carolina, making him the first African-American to fill this prestigious position. At that time the council consisted of seventeen participating denominations. He also served on the General Board of the National Council of Churches (USA) and was a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. He was also a delegate to several General Conferences of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He represented the Seventh Episcopal District on the General Board of the AME Church. Having been a life member of the NAACP for many years, Reverend Gillison had been very active in the Civil Rights Movement of our nation. One of his greatest inspirations was the opportunity to visit with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his home in Atlanta. Reverend Gillison was a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He was married to the former Jean Alvesta Waymer of Elloree, South Carolina. Their oldest daughter, Alfreda Gillison Miller, is married to Royce Van Miller; and they have two sons: Royce Van Miller II and Sean Gillison Miller. Their younger daughter is Gloria Louise Gillison. “Serving as a pastor has been a challenge and a joy,” Reverend Gillison said. Reverend Gillison served four congregations: St. Paul/Piney Grove Circuit in Dixana, South Carolina; Chappelle Memorial in Columbia, South Carolina; Mt. Pisgah in Sumter, South Carolina and Mother Emanuel in Charleston, South Carolina. Reverend Gillison served as Presiding Elder of the Edisto District for eighteen years. He then retired, after fifty-six years of active ministry. Reverend John Harold Gillison is survived by his wife Jean Waymer Gillison, two daughters, Alfreda Gillison Miller and Gloria Louise Gillison, two grandsons, Royce Van Miller II and Sean Gillison Miller, one son-in-law, Royce Van Miller and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, host of Bodison step-siblings and friends.

Rev. Dr. John H. Gillison

October 26, 1938 - October 21, 2015