Sandra Rehm Gilliam

Sandy Gilliam of Roswell, 85 years young, went to God on June 16th the way she wanted--peacefully in her sleep in her lakeside home of 45 years, with Ed, her husband of 65 years, snoring nearby. She is preceded in death by beloved daughter Carolyn Louise Gilliam.

Sandy laughed easily with a smile that illuminated every event, and her trenchant observations of the human condition were legendary.

She loved: Ed; the color red; her Mom and Dad, kids, siblings, brother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grandsons; bicycle racing; a lifetime of dogs, cats, and Irving the Iguana; big band jazz; rug hooking; sheep; three-egg omelettes and black coffee; primitive American antiques; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sandy was a fiercely loyal friend but not to tattoos, period.

Born in Toledo, Ohio to Dr. Ernest "Boppa" Rehm and Thelma "Mimi" Rutchow, Sandy also spent her youth in northern California and southern Maryland. She finally found her two true loves while at The Tobé-Coburn School for Fashion Careers--Ed and New York City. The world of fashion enthralled her no end.

Sandy's spinach souffle could take on all comers, and as a proud entrepreneur and small business owner she was the driving force behind three inimitable retail ventures over four decades--Potpourri on Roswell Square, C. Edgar Ladies Shoes throughout Atlanta, and American Sampler on Roswell's Canton Street.

She lived through an historical, tumultuous time in America's history--World War II. Sandy's exceptional long-term memory recalled seeing Japanese internment camps and German POWs. Waving to children behind the barbed wires, she asked mom why they couldn't come play. She helped her Army flight surgeon dad retrieve and put the remains of a crashed pilot into the family Chevy. She argued the mandatory draft needed reinstating: "Giving back to this country that gives so much."

Sandy enjoyed sharing her deep passions for needlepoint, rug hooking, American folk art, and antiques, and what an aesthetic eye she had. Her home showcased an impressive collection of some of the most well-known artists of Americana.

She will be so deeply missed.

Services will be private.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.roswellfuneralhome.com for the Gilliam family.