August 10, 1942 – December 30, 2020

A memorial service for Milton Gilman, 78, of Bellflower, Calif., was held Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, at Encounter Christian Church in Bellflower.

Milt Gilman was born in Slayton, Minn., on August 10, 1942, to Alvin and Lillian (Van Lant) Gilman. He was the first of four kids. He worked with his dad on the farm until going to Debry Institute in Chicago, Ill., for one semester. He then moved to California at the age of 18. He and his best friend, Ed Krosschell, traveled together and slept in their car for a week until they found somewhere to live. They started attending Bethel Reformed Church in 1960, where he was a faithful member. Milt got a job at the salt plant and worked there until he got a job at Thompson Furniture in Bellflower. He later drove truck for Alpha Beta and then Ralphs where he had perfect attendance for several years and was awarded driver of the year and given an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii.

He met his wife Carol while cruising Bellflower Blvd. in 1965. They dated for a few years before marrying at Trinity Christian Reformed Church on December 27, 1968. Their first son Mike was born on March 26, 1971, followed by Nichole on October 18, 1972, and then perfectly finished by Tim on April 7, 1978.

Milt’s first priority was always his family. He loved being with his wife and kids on any occasion. He was at every sporting event his kids played in. He also spent 50 years serving as a Cadet Counselor, and 30 years driving bus for the Kick It program at Bethel/Encounter Church. He and Carol led several marriage classes, and they were successful because they were not afraid to be real. Many young couples flocked to those groups because they were always so much fun.

In February of 2020, the city of Bellflower honored him with a BRAVO award. This award recognizes acts of valor and outstanding service. Although he would consider himself an ordinary citizen, everyone knew and recognized that everything he did was above and beyond, He coached varsity softball at Valley Christian for the past 5 years and was so loved and respected by every girl on the team. He not only played fast-pitch softball himself but at the age of 50, he was voted the MVP of the team for his incredible skill of pitching in a city championship.

Milt’s life was incredibly enriched as each of his kids got married and he gained a new son/daughter-in-law. The term in-law didn’t compute in his mind; he treated all of them like his own. When grandkids came along, he became like a child again. He would crawl on the floor with those kids and chase them all around. This past August on a river trip he was caught on video jumping from bed to bed.

There was no end to his energy. He was the resident fix-it guy at Encounter and stopped by a few times a week to check in with the staff and pastor. He would do any job asked of him and was a faithful volunteer. He gave his entire life to his family and the ministry at Encounter Christian Church. A memoir is set in his honor to help continue the leadership development program and bus ministry for Encounter’s youth and children.

Milt passed away December 30, 2020.

Milt is survived by his loving wife, Carol; his kids, Mike and Kerri Gilman, Nichole and Chris  McGahey, and Tim and Jamie Gilman; nine grandkids and three great-grandkids; his brother, Rod Gilman, and two sisters, Faye (Bob) De Boer and Barb (Vern) De Jong.