Jerry Dean Lilley of Branson, 77 an endearing public servant, died at his home Wednesday, September 26, 2012 amid the love of family and friends. Despite fighting illness the past 18 months, he was still advocating for the health of others as the director of the Free Medical Clinic of the Ozarks in Branson until his energy declined in the last few months.
He was the 2011 Don Gabriel Kingdom Builder Award recipient given annually to a person “who demonstrates a servant’s heart as a servant leader, who lives by Christian principles in all situations without compromises and who lives by a vision and mission which includes praying for and working for God’s perfect will to be accomplished in Ozark Mountain Country.”
After spending almost 30 years as a hospital administrator in Parsons, Ks., Lilley retired to Branson in 1990 to officially help run the family’s Lilleys’ Landing Resort & Marina on Lake Taneycomo. But unofficially, he and his wife, Carolyn, continued their commission to live out the Biblical mandate that “whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclessiates 9:10) His hands touched not only the free clinic in Branson but helped launch the Options Pregnancy Clinic in Branson and the YMCA, and back the Torchbearer Foundation to Africa, as well as multiple ministries through missions projects at First Baptist Church.
But most of all, Lilley offered the gift of friendship, always devoted to support those he crossed paths with, whether in encouragement, practical godly wisdom, finances or just his bridge-building humor.
He served as a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Branson and also served on the board of directors of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, at one time as treasurer. He also was active in the international Marketplace Ministries which equips and staffs chaplains to serve in businesses and job sites, and was a former board member for Youth Horizons Ministry for youth in Wichita, Ks. Directed by singer/evangelist Earnest Alexander.
In Kansas he was once president of the Kansas Hospital Association, chairman of the Kansas Blue Cross Board of directors and the Parsons United Way and a member of the board of the Midwest Health Congress. Lilley also helped doctors start a clinic in Parsons for those who could not afford healthcare.
Born in Sherman, Texas, as the younger son of “E.J.” Earnest Jack and Eddye Lilley, he grew up working in his father’s Lilley’s Department Store and also with a local mortician. He attended college at the University of Texas before marring his high school “best friend” in 1957 and accepting the administrator’s position at the Denison Katy Railroad Hospital. The couple transferred to Parsons in 1961 where he served as the administrative assistant at Katy Hospital there until he was tapped for the administrator position at the newly established Labette County Medical Center, now Labette Health.
Lilley is survived by his wife, Carolyn of the home in Branson, daughter Lisa Henderson and husband Paul of Harrison, AR; son, Phil and wife, Marsha of Branson, and daughter Belinda Gardner and husband, Chuck of Manassas, VA; his brother Jack and wife Elsie of Denison: brother-in-law Mike Harvey and his wife Karen of Fair Hope, Al: sister-in-law, Danna Harvey of Houston; and sister-in-law Joanna Drennan and husband, Dave of Denison; his grandchildren Sara (Lilley) Clark and husband Josh of Overland Park, KS (their children Jeriah & Serenity); Megan (Lilley) Cummings and husband Jimmy of Rogers, AR; Levi Elsworth of Las Vegas, NV (his daughter, Justice); Caleb Lilley and his wife, Maggie, of Beverly, MA; Greg Lilley of Bran son and Ryan Titus and wife, Caron of Hollister, two more great-grandchildren on the way – and a host of other family and friends.
Memorial services will be at 1:00 PM, Saturday, September 29, 2012 at the First Baptist Church in Branson with Pastor Neil Franks and Gil Stricklin officiating. Burial will be privately held that afternoon in the Evergreen Cemetery near Branson under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home of Branson.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church Missions & Me, 400 Sunshine, Branson, Mo. 65616; the Free Medical Clinic of the Ozarks, 590 Birch Rd, Hollister, MO, 65672; Labette Health Foundation, South Hwy 59, Parsons, KS 67357 and Youth Horizons, 1601 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS, 67211.