Kenneth Glen Gillis

Born March 28, 1939 at Fort Bragg, NC, he was a son of the late Glen and Thelma Jones Gillis.

Ken graduated from Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1957. Active in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), he received a citation for outstanding cadet during a summer training program. He started his higher education at Cameron College in Lawton in 1957. That educational pursuit was interrupted following a back injury requiring surgery to repair damaged discs. The injury also ended his ROTC activities.

Upon his father’s retirement from the US Army in March 1958, the family moved to Raleigh, NC where Ken enrolled at North Carolina State College (now NCSU) and graduated in June 1963 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.

To pay his way through college, Ken worked with encyclopedia companies to place volumes of their books in people’s homes. He was a crew leader and guided sales operations in various cities over several summers and falls. After graduating from NCSU in 1963, he started work with the City of Charlotte in its Engineering Department and soon became a Registered Professional Engineer in North Carolina. He rose to the position of Assistant City Engineer, supervising a large staff responsible for designing and managing the construction of roadway improvement projects, drainage structures, and municipal buildings. His employees also oversaw the design of and implementation of landscape improvement projects. Ken retired from the Engineering Department in 1997. He worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and later processed storm damage claims made through insurance companies.

Ken volunteered with Sharon United Methodist Church (now SouthPark Church) helping with projects sponsored by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). He assisted with a building project in Puerto Rico and a storm damage rehabilitation project in Louisiana. His volunteering service continued with Habitat for Humanity (Habitat Charlotte) laying out floor and wall plates for house construction, constructing porch railings, and building utility sheds.

Ken was an avid hunter, enjoying trips with friends to hunt White Tail Deer in eastern North Carolina and Ring-Necked Pheasant in the Midwest. He enjoyed traveling with family members and cousins and arranged trips to Alaska, Hawaii, Beijing, Oklahoma, New England and California. He enjoyed his friends and sponsored regular gatherings to socialize. He enjoyed family reunions.

Survivors include his two children, Michael Gillis (Wyndy) and Dianna Gillis Lamb; his four siblings, Linda Averette (James), Dan Gillis (Barbara), Doug Gillis (Marsha) and Earl Gillis (Karen); and two grandchildren, Brittany Gillis and Joshua Lamb.

Virtual funeral services are planned for 11:00 am Thursday, March 4, 2021.

Flowers are welcome or contributions may be made to Habitat For Humanity.

Please join the live stream & share condolences online at www.wilsonfuneralservices.com.