William H. Gilbert

Feb. 23, 1927 - May 19, 2000

William Henry Gilbert was the son of the late Rev. Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert, Sr., who was the former pastor of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, and of the Pilgrim Baptist Church in South Bend, president of the Georgia NAACP, civil rights activist of the 40's and 50's, playwright and humanist and Juanita Jeanette Heady Gilbert of Cook County, Illinois.

Born on February 23, 1927, in Marshall, Texas, William attended South Bend Central High School in South Bend, Indiana and Beach Tyler High in Savannah, Georgia. At age 17, he entered the United States Coast Guard and received his discharge in 1946. For a brief time, he was a welter-weight boxer and Golden Gloves champion. In 1947, he married Helen Louise James and two daughters were born to this union. A man of many talents, William Gilbert was an employee of Studebaker of South Bend, Indiana, a supervisor at Oliver Steel and Iron Foundry, and was later employed for over 27 years with Commonwealth Edison, Northern Division, in Northbrook, Illinois.

He retired in 1990 as Building Service Supervisor with Edison. He left his home in Evanston, Illinois and moved to Macon, Georgia to be close to his family in Macon, and friends in Savannah.

On his passing, William leaves: two daughters, Helen M. Gilbert Leslie and Quintress J. Gilbert; one son-in-law, Cedric T. Leslie; three grandchildren, Quintress, Thomas, and Elizabeth Leslie, all of Macon; his stepmother, Eloria S. Gilbert; a sister, Ruth Gilbert Lino, both of New York City; one brother, Ralph Mark Gilbert, Jr. of Detroit, Michigan (who will receive cards at: 2647 Cherokee Avenue, Macon, GA 31201); an uncle and aunt, Henry and Bertha Heady of Durham, South Carolina; a nephew, Russell Reynolds of Virginia; two nieces, Jennifer Reynolds Belcher of Federal Way, Washington and Edwina Reynolds Arnold of Brooklyn, New York; and a host of other relatives and friends

Source: Newspapers.com

07/10/2025 EJS