George Sheldon Gillam Jr. III

2/1/1933 – 2/27/2020

George S. Gillam, Jr. III was 87 years old when he passed away from congestive heart failure on February 27, 2020. He was born in Glendale, California to George S. Gillam, Jr. II and Dorothy Pearl Baxter Gillam. He was a beloved only son, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was preceded in death by his parents and in-laws Kay K. Kidd and Bessie V. Lepper Kidd. He met the love of his life, Ruth Muller Kidd and they married January 27, 1962. He is survived by his wife, Ruth M. Gillam, son Gregory D. Leiser with wife Laura Leiser, son Scott K. Gillam with wife Kimmberly A. Gillam, daughter Lori B. Gillam-Barnes with husband Steven A. Barnes and son Jeffery G. Gillam with wife Gladys A. Gillam and Grandchildren Timothy L. Barnes, Jennifer D. Barnes, Ashland M. Gillam, Eric K. Leiser, and Jeffrey R. Leiser.

George was raised by his mother; however, he was surrounded by his loving Aunt Bertha Stansbury and cousins; Barbara Jean Baxter, Don Stansbury, Wanda Stansbury-Diffee, Dale Stansbury, and Patti Stansbury-Faiman.

He attended Glendale Elementary School, Logan Street Elementary School, Thomas Star King Jr. High, Belmont High School where he was part of the ROTC, John Marshall High School and graduated from William S. Hart High School in 1952. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1955 and was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base. His special training was in electronics. He started as a SHORAN technician and then reached the grade of Airman First Class. His mother was suffering from lung cancer and the military was generous enough to keep him close to home. After his Honorable Discharge in 1960, he attended Bakersfield College.

His first job was at the age of nine, delivering the Saturday Evening Post for $.10 cents a copy. Later, he delivered the Daily News on “Fargo Street”, one of the steepest streets in Los Angeles, CA. He was a member of the Boy Scouts and had fond memories, learning the skills they taught him. He was hired by The Electrical Distributors to clean their office after school and on Saturdays. This is when he first learned about wire, flex, switches, conduit and other products. After this, he was hired at a local market and assigned to be a butcher. He worked as a plasterer’s helper and also mowed lawns during his early years.

He had joined the 4-H Club and Future Famers Club in junior high school and learned how to train cattle. This came in handy when he secured a job with a cattle feed lot and then later the Newhall Land & Farming Company. As an employee, he was able to select a Black Angus steer, named “Snowball”, to show in the Los Angeles County Fair and sold it for $300.

After college, he began his career in electronics with the Federal Aviation Administration, where he worked as a relief technician. He single-handedly changed the dress code of the office to slacks, a white shirt and tie and everyone else followed suit. During this time, he met his future wife Ruth at a dance, where she picked him out of a crowd. Sharing similar interests with Ruth’s father Kay, it was very natural for George to take a position with Kidd’s Communications, Inc. He obtained his FCC License on June 9, 1965. He became General Manager in 1967 and promoted radios, repeaters, paging and telephone answering service. He managed and propelled the company forward for seventeen years. He was instrumental in expanding the paging and two-way radio business and developing new mobile phone services. He worked hard to bring cellular service to Kern County, but in the initial talks he was laughed at and told cellular would never be in a city your size. In 1984, Kidd’s Communications, Inc. was sold to Metromedia. From 1984–1989, George and Ruth operated GILCO, a two-way radio repeater business. In 1989-1996 George was the CEO of Applied Technology Group, Inc. He never really retired, even when he started slowing down, he still insisted on reporting to work.

While he worked hard, he also loved spending time with his family. He enjoyed vacationing at Huntington Lake in the Sierra National Forest. He was an avid sailor and owned a Lido 14, El Toro and a Catalina 25 sailboat. His second love was his white Alpha Romeo Spider, which he drove for 10 years. He enjoyed archery and was a member of the Nomad Archery Club. He was a member of the Masonic Temple - Caledonia Lodge, Shrine Club and Hillcrest Lions Club. He served as president of many organizations throughout his life, both professional and personal related. He attended First Presbyterian Church and North Minister Presbyterian Church and he loved attending the Easter Sunrise Services at Hillcrest Memorial Park. His was a kind and gentle soul, who will truly be missed.

Visitation will be held Thursday, March 12, 2020 from 5:00PM – 9:00PM. Hillcrest Memorial Visitation Room through glass door, 9101 Kern Canyon Road, Bakersfield, CA 93306.

Celebration of Life will be held Friday, March 13, 2020 at 10:00AM, Hillcrest Memorial Chapel, 9101 Kern Canyon Road, Bakersfield, CA 93306.

Laid to Rest in Valley View Garden, Hillcrest Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Donations may be made to: Hoffman Hospice or Shriners Hospital