"Uncle Bob" was our Dad's best friend for Life.
He stayed in touch even after Daddy died when we were,
Hershey was 9, I was 7, and Barb was only 3.
Uncle Bob passed 2 days after our Dad's 50th anniversary of being gone.

He first married Virginia, that must have been after the war was over. They divorced and then he met and "married the love of his life, Karen" and they had 2 daughters. First lived in Vallejo where Mom, Barb and I visited at least twice and then they moved to the San Diego area to be with their girls...Linda and then Cathy
'********************************************
Sorry, wrong Robert now with receiving the obit from
contributor ___..thank you
and I will start again,
I do love a puzzle but I thought I was right on...
there is no way I ever heard an Alabama drawl...

And now thank you to Creator: "Essex"-- the Link to his Mom/Dad is done.

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
The (CA.) Thursday, December 26, 2002
DECEASED: ROBERT DANIEL GILLILAND
Aug. 8, 1917 - Dec. 21, 2002
Robert Daniel Gilliland, 85 of San Diego died Saturday.
He was born in Alabama and was a sales agent for State Farm Insurance. He was a member of the Widow/Widowers Club of Rancho Bernardo.
Survivors included his daughter, Cathleen Fitch, brothers, William Gilliland and Allen Gilliland and 3 grandchildren.
no services were planned.
Arrangements: El Camino Mortuary
Edition: 1 2 6 7
page: B-10 2 7 B-4 1 B-126

Just received another bio-obit and it says
Bob was born in Anniston, Alabama so this time I did find his right family.

Something that the obit does not talk about is the family that preceded him in death. That would be his beloved wife Karen buried next to him and his other daughter Linda Gilliland, we don't think she married. She passed after her mother Karen.
Another thing that the obit does not mention is Uncle Bob died in his home, Rancho Bernardo, at the kitchen table of a stroke. His daughter found him.

THE NEW DATA 10/1/2014
Military record:
US World War II Army Enlistment Records 1938-1946
ROBERT D. GILLILAND
EVENT TYPE: Military service
DATE: 11 March 1941
TERM OF ENLISTMENT: Enlistment for the Philippine Dept..
EVENT PLACE: Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA
RACE: White
Citizenship: citizen
BIRTH YEAR: 1917
Birthplace: Alabama
EDUCATION LEVEL: 4 years of High School
CIVILIAN OCC.: Semiskilled Chauffeurs, bus, taxi,trucks.
MARITAL STATUS: Single no dependents
MILITARY RANK: Private
ARMY BRANCH: Branch immaterial- Warrant Officers, USA
ARMY COMPONENT: Selectees
SOURCES REFERENCE: Civil Life
SERIAL #:---
AFFILIATE ARC:--
Box film # 14096.175
(this MUST be him just the time he met my dad at my gramma Parks house, in Los Angeles, CA. and he joined the service in LA. CAL March 1941.
Barb reminded me that Uncle Bob worked with Dad/Mom on the carnival, we have pictures of him with them.

SS DEATH RECORD
Robert D. Gilliland
Born: Alabama
SS# issued: California
DIED: 21 Dec. 2002
place of last residence listed
San Diego COUNTY, California.
'***************************************
With this new DATA I found a new family..........
1920 census Anniston Ward 1, Calhoun, ALABAMA
HEAD: W.D. Flood age:47 TN
SON: Fred age:17 ALA
DAU.: Ellen age:13 ALA
DAU.: Jinnie age:10 ALA
SON-IN-LAW: H.M GILLILAND age:38 ALA
DAUGHTER: Ethel GILLILAND Age:24 ALA
son: Herman GILLILAND age:5 ALA
son: ROBERT D. GILLILAND AGE:2 ALABAMA
lodger: Eliz. Matthews age:67 GA
(here is the new ROBERT D. GILLILAND in Alabama)

1930 census Birlingham, Jefferson Co. ALABAMA
HEAD: Ethel GILLILAND age:36 ALA
son: Herman GILLILAND age:15 ALA
son: ROBERT D. GILLILAND AGE:12 ALABAMA
son: Ellen "son" age:7 ALA (ALLEN)
(I sure hope this is the son
ALLEN or this kid has a problem in school)
AND IT LOOKS like Ethel is a widow or divorced,
cause HEAD: H.M born 1882 Alabama that was on the 1920 is no longer HEAD: WIFE Ethel is now HEAD.

This is all I can find on ROBERT D. GILLILAND
no 1940 census, no marriage, no divorce,

We know for sure that Bob was living in
Los Angeles California 1941 and prior. Because my Dad met him in L.A. and he joined the Army March 1941.
We know he was living in the San Francisco, Vallejo area in the 1960s because we visited them there. The 2 daughters were born up there. And then of course they moved to San Diego County in the 1970s?..