Ellen Harriet (Trent) Gillem was born on Oct. 12, 1941, in Childress, Texas to Ben Trent and Thelma Inez (Gressett) Trent. She passed from this life on Dec. 11, 2024, in Childress after a short battle with cancer. The family will have a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at Central Christian Church with Dr. W. D. Green officiating. Cremation arrangements are under the personal care of Johnson Funeral Home.
Ellen married J A Gillem “Jaybird” on May 4, 1959. From this union, they had two children, Danny and Michael. In 1972, she obtained her LVN license and remained licensed for 49 years. She worked for Turner Nursing Home in Childress for 25 years.
Ellen was family oriented and loved family gatherings. She enjoyed cooking and always cooked more than was necessary, so that she could send leftovers home. Some of her favorite things to do were shopping, reading, ancestry research and Christmas stockings. She loved her family and her dogs.
Those left to cherish her memory are her son, Michael Gillem and wife Karen, of Wellston, Okla., her sister, Kathy McLain, of Vernon, Texas; grandchildren Mallory Gillem and Moses, of Childress,Tanner Gillem and wife Courtney, of Childress, Tristan Thomas and husband Lane, of Childress, Jenna Bichsel and husband, of Claude, Texas, Ryan Gaines and his wife, of Arizona, and Shyla Gaines and husband, of Arizona; and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, J.A. “Jaybird” Gillem; her parents, Ben and Thelma Inez Trent; her siblings, George Trent, A.B. Trent, Evelyn Griffin, Frances Smith and Barbara Jones; and her son, Danny Gillem.
