Keith Vernell Gilliam

A Life Lived Like a True Cowboy — With a Golfer’s Grace

I, Keith Vernell Gilliam, came into this world on July 7, 1962, born to the late Alphonzo Gilliam, Sr. and Elsie Delorine Welch Gilliam in Edenton, North Carolina. From the very beginning, life dealt me a blessed hand — full of adventure, family, and the kind of laughter that echoes for years.

I grew up side-by-side with my sibling Alphonzo Gilliam Jr. (Tanya) of Newport News, VA, and Robert “Bobby” D. Gilliam, along with two cousins who were more like extra brother and sister, Raymond Hall of Miami, FL, and Kimberly “Tina” Burton (Will) of Raleigh, NC. With them, my childhood was a full-on highlight reel: big plays, bigger personalities, and unforgettable moments.

I was baptized into the New Testament Church of Christ at an early age in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Faith became the steady ground beneath my feet — the same way a golfer trusts the fairway and a Cowboy trusts the star on his helmet.

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