Jill Ann Gellos

Jill Ann Conrad was born August 21, 1959 to Charlie and Elnor Conrad of Wakarusa, Indiana. She was the youngest of four girls. Her oldest sister, Shela, remembers the day Jill came home from the hospital. The older sisters all wanted a brother but got a sister instead. The older three sisters got boy names for their middle names, but not Jill- she got a girls’ middle name. Shela remembers that Jill liked to ride in her doll buggy and sleep in the doll bed. Jill’s first birthday was spent in California visiting relatives. On that first birthday, Jill received a toy worm as a gift. She carried the toy with her everywhere and her sisters from then on referred to her as “Willy Worm”. When Shela made clothes for home economics class and 4H, she was required to have the clothes modeled, so Jill, at age 5 modeled the clothes for Shela. Jill grew up on a farm and learned to care for livestock, mainly pigs. Her parents taught her how to work hard all through elementary and high school. Her mom made sure that the four girls not only attended but were active in church. Jill was saved in Sunday School and later baptized at Bible Baptist Church in Wakarusa, IN. She had a vibrant youth group and had many friends from church and high school with whom she stayed in contact. After graduating from Penn high school in 1977, she came to PCC for a one-year business degree and excelled. She joined the staff at PCC in June of 1978. It was not long until she moved to a secretarial position where she took care of Dr. and Mrs. Horton’s and Buzz Baker’s travel plans, worked with ensemble travel plans, set up clinics, conferences, and a myriad of other responsibilities. At the beginning of every school year, she would assist Gettys Alan in setting up the bus routes for the elementary and high school. Mike would try to get her to go on the bus route, but she never did. In 1984, she started working in the Student Life Resource Office and really enjoyed the ladies she worked with until the day she retired in 2018, having completed 40 years of work at PCC. On March 7, 1980 she had her first date with Mike where they went to visit a WPCS listener and then went for ice cream. During that first date, Mike found out that Jill used to take care of hogs on the farm and he thought that if she could take care of hogs, she could take care of Mike. Mike and Jill were engaged March 6, 1982 and were married July 23 of the same year. Their wedding had to be postponed a month because of a car wreck that put Jill and Shela in the hospital. Brent Alan was born in 1983, Aaron Conrad was born in 1986, Jared Michael was born in 1988, and Tyler Tillman was born in 1994. She was a devoted mother to the four boys and was highly active in her sons lives. She made a point to be at the boys’ programs, recitals, concerts, basketball games, baseball games, wrestling matches, track meets and cross country meets. She and Mike made a point to know who their boy’s friends were, often asking the boys during the evening meal, “Who did you eat lunch with today?” Jill was active in the Campus Church helping in whatever capacity she could. In the early years, she was active in the church nursery, helping with an assortment of mission projects, and being very active in Missions Conference, in organizing the gifts for the missionaries when they arrived. She was able to make a dream come true the summer of 2019 when she went to Romania with a missions team with Mark and Melanie Goetch. Jill also enjoyed taking several trips with her sister Rhonda, including their first trip together to Hawaii in 2012. After she stopped work, she helped her in-laws, Jack and Marjorie with their health needs until their homegoing in 2019 and 20. She personally helped organize gifts, food, and back packs for the Baltimore Rescue Mission as well as organize books for the Shertzers’ in Belize. On December 17th, she was complaining of severe neck pain. On the morning of December 21, Mike soon realized that there was a serious problem, and she was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital. After several tests, it was determined that the pain on the 17th was a heart attack and a stroke came on the early morning of the 21st. She was in Sacred Heart until December 29th until the local doctors at Sacred Heart arranged for her to fly to UAB in Birmingham to have a procedure done to help her heart. On January 4th, Mike was informed that Jill had contracted Covid, but the heart surgery continued that afternoon. During the week of the 4th, she continued to stay stable. On Tuesday the 5th, Mike tested positive for Covid and had to return to Pensacola. There was constant communication between Mike and Jill while they were apart. On Monday, January 11th, the doctors told Mike that her numbers were not good and nothing else could be done, until on Wednesday, January 13th, at 12:04pm, Jill went to glory. Many good things can be said of Jill Gellos. She was a Godly loving wife, great teammate, Mike’s best friend, loving and caring mother, adored mother-in-law by Kaity, Melissa, Erin and Christin, and a doting grandmother of 11 grandkids. But the best thing she should be known for is that of a faithful servant of Jesus Christ who was used greatly to enable many others to do God’s work. Visitation will be Tuesday, January 19, 2021, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home South. Funeral Services will be on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, at 11:00 AM at St. John Chapel at Pensacola Christian College. Dr. Jeff Redlin will be officiating. Interment will be at Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jill's name to Jonathan and Elizabeth Shertzer, Missionaries to Brazil or to the Baltimore Rescue Mission, Baltimore, MD. FAITH CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME SOUTH, 100 Beverly Parkway, Pensacola, is entrusted with arrangements. You may express condolences online at www.fcfhs.com.

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Jill Ann Gellos

August 21, 1959 - January 13, 2021