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Carl L. Gillis, 90 ADRIAN--Funeral for Carl L Gillis, Jr., 90, was held Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008 at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Dublin with Rev. Dr. Clifton F. Morris, Rev. Betsy Caudill and Rev. Billy Key officiating. Burial was in the Poplar Springs Cemetery in Adrian. He died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008. Mr. Gillis, son of the late Vina Lou Rowland Gillis and Carl L. Gillis, Sr., was a native of Adrian. He attended Abraham Baldwin College and the University of Georgia with a major in Economics. He was a successful businessman and politician. He began his career by teaching high school; from teaching he went into farming; and in 1946 with the help of a rented steam engine began a lumber and sawmill business. It was in 1946 that Mr. Gillis pioneered his idea of the modular home. In 1957 he formed Builtwell Homes which was sold to a group of bankers in Atlanta in 1961. It was at that time Mr. Gillis built the only modern restaurant the town of Adrian ever had, which he and his family operated. This venture only lasted a short time before he returned to his real love, the housing industry. And, in 1962 he organized the Adrian Housing Corporation which was one of the first in the whole country to manufacture a completed modular home. He was a member of the Adrian Methodist Church where he was a Church Lay-Leader, on the Board of Stewards and personally contributed the money to build an annex for Sunday School Rooms. He served as Mayor of Adrian for five terms and served on City Council. He was a member of Lions Club, Exchange Club, Farm Bureau and State Chamber of Commerce. He was one of the early pioneers of the Republican movement in Georgia. He was involved in Republican Politics since 1964 where he began as County Chairman of Johnson County and also held District office posts. He served as National Committeeman from Georgia on the Republican National Committee from 1976 to 1992, one of the longest tenures in RNC history. He was an active supporter of Ronald Reagan in his 1976, 1980, and 1984 presidential bids. He was preceded in death by his wife, Iris. Survivors include his children Connie Wammock (Ben) of Adrian; Gwenda Gillis of Adrian; Gil Gillis of Dublin; and Gayla Reed (Rick) of Alexandria, Va.; seven grandchildren, six great grand-children; and two sisters, Jimmie Reese of Milledgeville; and Madelyn Warren of Jacksonville, Fla. Pallbearers were Hugh Foskey, Ronald Braswell, Michael Thigpen, James Hutcheson, Bob Watt, and Buddy Adams. Honorary pallbearers were Dr. Jim Kibler, Curtis Beall, Wallace Miller, Don Vinson, Joe Uliano, Thomas Curry, Jimmy Grant, Ed Harpe, Jim Shackelford, Senator Ross Tolleson, Jim Hammock, Jim Park and Bobby Fountain. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Adrian Methodist Church, P. O. Box 267, Adrian, GA 31002; or The Kings Cleft, a non-profit disabled children's home, RR2 Box 2752, Wrightsville, GA 31096. Townsend Brothers Funeral Home, Inc. had charge of arrangements.
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