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Obituaries » Hezekiah Gilyard
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Hezekiah Gilyard
October 20, 1922 - February 3, 2021
PUBLIC VIEWING (Walk Through Only)
Monday, February 15, 2021
2PM – 7PM
Corprew Funeral Home
CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
9:00AM
E.G. “Tip” Corprew Jr. Memorial Chapel of Corprew Funeral Home
1822 Portsmouth Blvd.
Portsmouth, VA 23704
**You may view the services beginning at 9:00AM by logging onto our Facebook page or via livestream at www.corprewfuneralhome.net/stream. Please mute your listening devices.
FINAL RESTING PLACE
Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery
5310 Milners Road
Suffolk, VA 23434
Due to the current pandemic, services are limited to immediate family and invited guests only.
COVID19 REGULATIONS FOR ATTENDING VIEWING AND CHAPEL SERVICES AT CORPREW FUNERAL HOME
Due to the recent increase in COVID19 cases, the governor of Virginia has established guidelines to reduce the spread of this pandemic virus. In an effort to keep our families, staff and facilities protected and safe, we are asking that all visitors comply with the following directives:
** Be subject to temperature checks, hand sanitation and social distancing of nothing less than 6 feet within the facility
**Facial coverings that cover the nose and mouth are required and must remain on while inside of the facilities for viewing and services
** Refrain from kissing, hugging, embracing others as your enter or leave the facilities to help reduce the spread of the virus
** If you are experiencing a cold or flu-like symptoms, please do not enter the funeral home at any time
** Chapel services are limited to 10 People, per Governor’s New Order and Mandate effective Monday, December 14, 2020
** During viewing hours, visitors may enter 10 at a time through a walk through process of viewing the deceased without lingering or having a large gathering
It is our sincere effort and duty to ensure that the families we serve will be safe and protected during this pandemic. Our facility is sanitized hourly to disinfect and safeguard against the spread of the COVID19 virus. May God bless you and your families and keep us safe in His care. Thank you for continuing to allow us to serve you in your time of need and bereavement.
You may leave condolences to the family at www.corprewfuneralhome.net
Hezekiah Gilyard was born to Thomas Gilyard and Rosa Gilyard on October 20, 1922 in Berrien County, Georgia. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ford DeBerry. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was among the first wave of troops to enter Japan after the cessation of armed conflict. Back in civilian life, he married Mary Zella Lewis of Ocilla, Georgia, on August 2, 1946. They relocated to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, and their union subsequently produced four children: Barbara Michelle (b. 1951), Raymond Keith (b. 1952), Karen Patrice (b. 1954), and Frances Carol (b. 1958 and who predeceased him).
Gilyard was a deacon at Harlem’s Convent Avenue Baptist Church before moving to Queens. In the 1960s, he began working for the United States Postal Service and remained in that capacity until his retirement in 1987. In 1996, he relocated to Chesapeake, Virginia, with his by-then longtime partner Rosetta Ryland Turner, who preceded him in death. The Lord called Gilyard home on February 3, 2021 at Autumn Care of Suffolk.
He leaves behind his wife; remaining children; daughter-in-law Sharyn Gilyard; sisters Catherine Anderson and Clevenia Abel (Jonathan); sisters-in-law Georgia Teague and Vandella Florence; brother-in-law Harold Lewis; as well as Vernon Lee Ryland (Marie) and Curtis Anthony Turner. He had thirteen grandchildren—Eric Gilyard, Nicole Wilkinson, Andre Gilyard, Taneha Gilyard, Kahlil Gilyard, Kaamilah Gilyard, Matthew Wilkinson, Tyrell Pope, Jerome Slaughter, Amina Gilyard James, Asha Wilkinson, Tiffany Gilyard, and Justin Slaughter. He also had fifteen great-children and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends, including those at the music shows, the ball games, on golf courses, and at Mount Hermon Baptist Temple in Portsmouth, Virginia.