3/31/1929 – 3/9/2017
Mr. Enish Gills, Jr was born on March 31, 1929 in Paris Texas to proud parents, Enish Gills and Dora Lee Lawrence. A couple of years later, Enish’s Mother moved him and his older sister, Lillie Me to Idabel, Oklahoma where she married Will Saddler. Enish was raised in Idabel by his mother and step-father until he was approximately 16 or 17 years old. He was introduced to Christ at a very early age and eve4n though he did not attend or affiliate himself with a church home; he often made reference to the need to pray and the power of God.
While living in Oklahoma City in his early 20s, he met Erma Jo Permetter, a beautiful young woman from Purcell, Oklahoma and they were married on February 8, 1953. Shortly after that, they relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, where Mr. Fills resided until his death. Ten children were born as a result of that union.
There are many extremely valuable lessons that a parent can teach his/her children and some of the most important lessons that Enish taught his children included, but are not limited to the following:
- The importance of commitment. This, he demonstrated by remaining in the household to assist his wife in raising their children. While it might have been easy for some men to abandon such a large family, his way of demonstrating love and commitment for his family was in the fat that he didn’t leave;
- The importance of being a BMW (Black Man Working). From the time he left his mother’s home until his retirement from Lucent Technologies he was never without a job and the ability to contribute to his family financially. This was not only a great lesson for him to impart to his sons, but also a great lesson his daughter to see to assist her in establishing expectations of the man in her life;
- The importance of fiscal responsibility. Mr. Gills made sure that his wife and children were never presented with a single eviction notice or shut-off notice for any utilities or phone bill. While some might think that he did no more than he was supposed to do in this area, think about how many men failed to provide that example;
- The importance of passing our blessing along and sharing them. Over the years, Mr. Gills was Uncle Enish and daddy to many others. It was not uncommon for him to open his hoe to his in-laws and their families, his siblings and their families, cousins and others. He was extremely generous and never hesitated to share with those around him;
- The importance of acknowledging love for your family. Enish grew up in an era where it was deemed inappropriate for men to cry, hug each other and/or tell each other that you love them. It was absolutely amazing watching this man go from that to eventually becoming a man who rarely ended a phone call or face to face conversation without telling us that he loved us. What a joy and what a blessing that God would allow us and him to be around and have the opportunity to witne3s that extreme change;
Those who were not around for some of these important lessons and preceded him in death are his mother and father, stepfather, son Enish Gills III (Papa) Daughter Mary Ellen Gills, Brothers Lovord Saddler and Alvin Saddler, and sister Travel Lee Saddler.
Enish is survived by his brother, Marvin Saddler and two sisters, Lillie Mae Moore and Willie Mae Polite. He also leaves to mourn his passing eight (8) sons: Jerry Gills, Rickie Gills, Curtis (Cardella) Gills, Alvin (Regina) Gills, Marvin (Sharon) Gills, David Gills, Clifford (Tauncey) Gills of Omaha and Rodney Allen of Indianapolis, IN; one daughter Beverly (Eddie) Harris. He was blessed with a number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends who will all miss him terribly.
Visitation Thursday (3/16/17) 3PM-5PM and
Funeral Service 1PM Friday (3/17/17) all at Roeder Mortuary.
Interment Mount Hope Cemetery.
Repast to follow at Starlight Chateau – 1310 N 29th St.
Roeder Mortuary, Inc. – Ames Chapel
4932 Ames Ave – Omaha, NE – 402-453-5600
www.RoederMortuary.com
