Walter James Gilliam Jr.

Walter James Gilliam, Jr. Passed away February 11, 2007 He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1938. He married Doris Cowden, while on leave on September 10, 1942, in Burlingame, in the home in which she was raised. Her daily jaunts down Carmelita Ave. to the train station at Broadway had caught the eye of the young service station operator. They came to live in the home that would serve four generations to-date. At 6'6", Walter was pursued to participate on many athletic fields as a youth. He played football for the Bearcats. Coaches predictably requested that he continue to play football during peace time while in the armed services. Golf, however, was his passion. Called the "Gentle Giant," one of many descriptive monikers used by writers to relate the prowess of his game and demeanor, he led his high school and Santa Barbara Teacher's College (now UCSB) to titles while accumulating many personal accolades in tournament play as an amateur. His armed service days included WWII duty in the South Pacific. He often related his difficulty in hurriedly "digging in" on a beach during the landing on Okinawa. He was bemused by the dismay a fellow soldier was having accommodating his own 6'6" frame in the sand. Fate would have it that this soldier was none other than his life-long friend, Fred Boensch, a classmate and football teammate at San Mateo High School. After a short stint playing golf as a professional, Walter returned to the amateur game while working and raising his family. He co-owned "Fox Ltd.", a men's haberdashery in Palo Alto during the late 1950s. There he was convinced by a customer to get into banking. At Crocker-Anglo Bank, his love of golf made him the ideal business development officer. As times changed, Walter sat down behind the desk to become a branch manager for the Burlingame branch. As much a mentor as an officer of the bank, he took great pride in the ascension of young apprentices, such as his "adopted son" Bruce Farrell, now an executive vice president at Borel Bank and Trust. His golf accomplishments included many amateur titles including the prestigious San Francisco City Tournament, runner-up in the California State Amateur and qualified for the U.S. Open. Through golf he met many luminaries who called him friend. He was generous to all, never speaking an unkind word to or about anyone, though always wary of those slow to pick up the dinner tab. Whether it was with the boys for breakfast on Broadway, lunches with Bruce, Ed, Dick, Tony, Ken, Lee, or dinners with Bud, Charlie, Fred, Von, et al... he lived his life as he golfed, straight and true and rarely blue. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Carole and Bill Smith of Burlingame, and his granddaughter Allison Smith at school in Chico. Mr. Gilliam was preceded in death by his wife, Doris and his son, James. Crosby, N-Gray was in charge of arrangements. He will be interred at Cypress Lawn in Colma.