A longtime veterans advocate in the Gainesville area has died. James Gilmer, 70, a native and lifelong resident of New Holland, died Thursday.
Gilmer was also affectionately known as the honorary mayor of New Holland, the east Gainesville mill village where he grew up.
After a stint in the Army, the Vietnam War veteran became a strong advocate for veterans for more than 40 years, according to this obituary. He played a vital role with the Georgia Department of Labor's Gainesville office as a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist for 20 years, a position that allowed him to help veterans with jobs and counseling.
Gilmer was an active member of several veterans organizations and other groups, and served leadership roles in some of them. Some of the organizations he was part of are: Lanier Lions Club, where he was a past-president; Disabled American Veterans; American Legion; AM Vets; Combat Infantrymen; Vietnam Veterans of America; and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a charter member and commander of several local, state and national organizations.
In 2005, Gilmer received the Vietnam Veterans Member of the Year Award and the National Commander’s Award.
After leaving the Army, he returned to Hall County and for 30 years worked in the funeral industry as a funeral director and ambulance driver with Ward's Funeral Home, at a time when the funeral homes in the county provided ambulance service.
The funeral will be Monday at 11:00 at Memorial Park North Riverside.
(A complete obituary can be found on the AccessWDUN Obituaries page.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/8/431016/james-gilmer