Elizabeth Dockery Tice-Gillis

A visitation service will be held at Hanes Lineberry N Elm St. Funeral Home on Saturday, August 29, 2015 from 5pm-7pm. The funeral service will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2015 at 2:00pm at Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church, Oak Ridge, with burial following the service at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Greensboro.

Liz was born on June 19, 1930 in Greensboro, NC to the late Claudius Dockery Jr. and Elizabeth Cranford Dockery. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Claudius Dockery III, and her husband Norman Aubrey Gillis Jr.

She is survived by her son, W. Thomas Tice III and wife Mary; daughter, Elizabeth Tice Tunstall and husband Earl; grandson, Michael Alan Breedlove; granddaughter Jennifer Breedlove Carroll and husband Brian; and great grandson, Connor Brian Carroll. She is also survived by her beloved dog, “Doodle Bug”.

She attended Greensboro High School and graduated from Stratford College for Women and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a BS in Sociology.

Liz grew up on a dairy farm in Guilford College during WWII. During the war, there was a Greensboro army base where soldiers were stationed before shipping overseas. Wives would come into town to be with their husbands before the men left for war. Often there were children who had no place to stay, so her mother agreed to “take in one or two children." Those numbers grew into the hundreds when Liz’s mother, Elizabeth Dockery, started building cabins and established Hickory Dockery Camp. “Sometimes there were as many as 65 children, some staying for two to six weeks at a time,” said Liz, who at 11-years-old started teaching riding lessons as part of the camp and went on to teach riding at Stratford College.

Her father, Claudius Dockery, graduated from Oak Ridge Military Institute in 1920 and was active in the Oak Ridge Community. At 15, Liz rode in the first Oak Ridge Horse Show in 1945. That was the beginning of many years in participating both in the show ring and in putting the shows together. She served as the vice-chairwoman of the Oak Ridge horse show committee.

Liz was a Real Estate Agent in Oak Ridge with Allen Tate Realty, having just retired in 2014. During a career spanning 36 years, Liz had her hand in selling some of the area's most beautiful horse farms and housing developments. Over the years, she's received numerous awards and was awarded the Barbara Tate Legendary Service Award, the most prestigious award that Allen Tate Realty presents to its agents.

She was a founding member of both the Oak Ridge Swim Club and Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church.

Liz, along with her constant companion “Doodle Bug”, was a volunteer with Pet Partners helping children with reading disabilities and visiting local hospitals. She was a loving mother, loyal friend, and helping hand to many. She had a remarkable attitude and truly loved people. She often said that “People are to be loved and things can be replaced”.

The family thanks her many friends for their support and love during her brave fight against cancer. We also thank the Cone Cancer Center and Dr. Peter Ennever and his staff; Dr. Russell Howerton and his staff at the Baptist Hospital Cancer Center; Dr. Richard Tisovic and his staff at Guilford Medical; Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro and the many dedicated health care professionals who were so kind to her during her illness.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to The Children’s Home Society of North Carolina at chsnc.org; Peacehaven Community Farm at peacehavenfarm.org, or the Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church, 2614 Oak Ridge Rd., Oak Ridge NC 27310.

On line condolences may be made through www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.