A TRIBUTE TO BOB GILLILAND

Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland, patriarch of the Gilliland & Hayes, P.A. law firm, passed away Saturday, April 14, 2007, at the age of 89. Bob was born March 25, 1918 in Arkansas City, Kansas, moving to Hutchinson, Kansas at the age of six. He graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1938, and earned his law degree at the University of Kansas School of Law in 1942. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was commissioned as an officer on August 5, 1942.

After the end of his military career, in January 1946, Bob returned to Hutchinson, Kansas and started practicing law with Charles Rauh, but six months later joined the firm of Martindell, Carey, Brown and Brabets.  In 1959, Bob, John Hayes, and Bill Miller started the law firm that is now known as of Gilliland & Hayes, P.A. in Hutchinson, Kansas. The firm has since grown to include 28 attorneys in offices in Wichita, Lawrence, and Kansas City, Missouri. After 57 years of practicing law, Bob officially retired on July 1, 2003.

Bob was married to his wife Ruth for 65 years and they have two children: James R. Gilliland and Patricia Ruth Crews. He had seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

A pillar of the Hutchinson Community, Bob served as the Hutchinson City Attorney from 1962 to 1967, served on the Hutchinson Hospital board as attorney and secretary, was first chairman of the original Junior College Basketball Tournament and served on the executive committee for 50 years, past president of Rotary International, Hutchinson, past president at Prairie Dunes Country Club, past vice president of the Kansas Bar Association, past president of the Hutchinson USD No. 308 School Board, past commander of the American Legion Lysle Rishel Post No. 68, Hutchinson, an elder and life member of First Presbyterian Church.

Bob will be missed by the firm, the Hutchinson Community, and all who knew him.