James Larry Gillenwater, 75, of Hurricane, WV was called to his eternal home on March 5th, 2022, after a long illness. Larry was born April 10th, 1946, to the late Zeddie Gillenwater and Virginia Lee Brooks Gillenwater.
He was a devout Christian who served the Lord as a Sunday School teacher for over 50 years. He also served as deacon of Cobbs Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Sod, WV and again at Good Shepherd Southern Baptist Church in Scott Depot, WV. He was a 1964 graduate of Duval High School. He retired as E8 Master Sergeant from the Army National Guard as the state food service advisor with 22 years of service and retired from DuPont Belle plant as safety supervisor with over 30 years of service. Post retirement, Larry worked as an OSHA regulatory training instructor for Kanawha County and as a transporter for Enterprise. He was a longtime member of the Alum Creek Lions Club and spent many years singing with The New Creations quartet based out of Alum Creek. Besides spending time with friends and family, Larry was an avid outdoorsman who loved both hunting & fishing.
Left to cherish his memory are sister Rebecca (Robert) Dixon of Greenville, SC; Brothers- Thomas (Mary) Gillenwater of Sumerco, WV; Stephen Gillenwater of Greenville, SC; Jonathan (Marsha) Gillenwater of Port Wentworth, GA; Joseph (Paula) Gillenwater of Hollywood, SC; Children- Scott (Brittney) Gillenwater of Tornado, WV; Rachel Duncan of St. Albans, WV; Adam Gillenwater of Hurricane, WV; Brooke (Josh) Lemasters of Hurricane, WV; Grandchildren- Brian (Rebecca) Gillenwater; Kayla (William) Nehme; Luke Gillenwater; Jacob Lindroth, Holland Mathews, Baxter Duncan, Zachary (Tori) Duncan, Mason Duncan, Alexander Duncan, Gracie Gillenwater, Claire Gillenwater, Mia Gillenwater, Haydon McIntosh, Keagan McIntosh, Rogan McIntosh, Joshua Gunnoe, Payton Lemasters; six great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, friends and loved ones.
Memorial service will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, March 26, 2022, at Curry Funeral Home, Alum Creek with Bryant Bowman officiating. Military Rites to follow by Alum Creek VFW Post 4768. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.
The family would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of support. They would also like to thank the wonderful staff at Hospice Care who helped take exceptional care of Larry in his final days on this Earth.
Brooke, Tom and I are so sorry for the loss of your dad. I know the pain you and the other siblings are hurting. Larry was a great man and loved all of his family equally. Praying for you and the family. Love you all.
We all loved Larry, he was a wonderful, gentle, kind, and loving man.
God bless his family as they mourn their loss. But we will see you shortly, Larry, when that final trump sounds!
“Great man”, “Good friend”, “WILL BE MISSED” ! ! !