GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., (June 24, 2014) — Family, friends and the congregation of Deliverance Outreach Ministry are mourning the loss of Roberta Gillen. Gillen, passed away on June 21, 2014 at the age of 106.
Gillen was born in Mississippi in April 1908. She later moved to Michigan to be closer to family in Grand Rapids. According to Deliverance Outreach Ministry Senior Pastor Leroy Tolbert, she is credited with helping to build the church over the past 20 years. Pastor Tolbert told FOX 17 News that she was like a “church mother.”
“I’ll never forget her words that she spoke to me,” he said. “She said that the only thing that she wanted was for the Lord to remember her name and that’s so effective when I think about it, and how the Lord allowed her to live 106 years. It’s a blessing all by itself.”
Public viewing for Gillen is scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2014 at Ivy K Gillespie Memorial Chapel, 1865 Eastern Ave SE, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, June 28, 2014 at Deliverance Outreach Ministries, 1142 Broadway SW, at noon. Friends may meet with the family one hour prior to services.
