Alexander G. "Sandy" Gilliam Jr.

1933 - 2024

GILLIAM, Alexander "Sandy" G. Jr., advisor to four UVA presidents, dies at 91.

Sandy had a long and storied career that took him halfway around the world working in counterintelligence, first in the U.S. Army, then in the Foreign Service, and finally in the State Department in such far flung places as Israel, Africa, and throughout the Middle East, studying cultures, politics, international protocol, and languages, including Arabic, which he always lamented was far too difficult to master.

But his strong ties to Virginia, especially the University of Virginia, kept tugging at him until 1975, at the age of 41, he headed home.

As the story goes, Sandy was reluctant to return to work at UVA, thinking that some might see him as trying "to recapture the lost days of youth" in what had been an all-male university. It wasn't until he saw a woman student emerge from his old room on The Lawn that he was convinced that important changes were underway. He took the job as special assistant to then University President Frank L. Hereford Jr., the first of many he would hold over the next 40 years, including serving as special assistant to University Presidents Robert M. O'Neil, John T. Casteen III, and Teresa A. Sullivan.

Sandy died on June 8, at home with his devoted wife, Katherine Scott, by his side in the house filled with memorabilia from a lifetime of collecting books and artwork that they shared for 50 years.

Sandy was born May 4, 1933, in Baltimore, MD, to Alexander G. Gilliam Sr. and Laura Venning, and grew up splitting his time between Maryland and Virginia, following his father's medical career, but Virginia always called his name. The one constant was his grandmother's house in Charlottesville, just four blocks from the University, where he spent many childhood summers. There was never any doubt that Sandy would attend college anywhere else. The first Gilliam, he liked to recall, enrolled at UVA in 1829. Sandy graduated in 1955, with a degree in history, and eventually became a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, The Raven Society, The IMP Society, and The Seven Society, groups he remained deeply engaged with throughout his lifetime.

History was the perfect major for Sandy, who honed his skills as raconteur extraordinaire, and who liked nothing better than to tell stories. Most in the University community knew Sandy as a walking history of the University and of Thomas Jefferson lore; and if ever there was a question that needed answering, the first call was to him for reference and confirmation. His answers always came with great attention to detail and extraordinary humor.

At the University, Sandy immersed himself in mentoring students while juggling many titles: Special Advisor to presidents; Secretary to the Board of Visitors; Protocol Officer; and University Historian. He was everywhere at once, a regular sight striding across University Grounds like he owned the place.

When dignitaries came to visit the University - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, a handful of Nobel Peace Laureates - it was Sandy who worked behind the scenes managing security and protocol issues, and helping coordinate with international partners to assure that all visits went without a hitch.

If you visited him in his Rotunda office, surrounded by dozens of framed photographs and memorabilia, there was usually someone seated across the desk being schooled by Sandy. He was exceedingly generous with his time to all members of the University community.

When Sandy "officially" retired in 2009, he was praised for his "great competence, wisdom, and devotion," but also for his building deep relationships across the University and the knowledge he shared so freely.

It was a little more than a year ago, on a cold January evening when he was rushing to make a speech on University history, that Sandy took a bad fall on the brick walkway not far from his old office in the Rotunda. That fall triggered many problems and over the past year he struggled with his health. But he had been on a mission, even at 90, to do one of the things he still loved most, and that was to serve the University.

Sandy is survived by his wife, Katherine Scott Gilliam; son, Alexander G. Gilliam III and his wife Renee Schacht; son, U.S Army Col. John Bolling Gilliam and his wife Erin; and five grandchildren: John, Virginia, Jackson, Quinlan, and Alexander G. IV; his sister Laura Edmondston Gilliam; his sister and brother-in-law, Mildred and Joseph Herget; and a huge following of friends.

A memorial service will take place at St. Paul's Memorial Church, University Avenue in Charlottesville, VA, at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 29.