Robert H. Gilliam, 83, died peacefully on Oct. 17, 2013.

Born in Dickson, Tenn., Bob moved to Oak Ridge as a teenager. After graduating from Oak Ridge High School, he went on to earn a DDS from the University of Tennessee, after which he completed a post-doctoral program in periodontics at Tufts University.

Bob spent his entire 30-year professional career in the U.S. Air Force’s Dental Corps. His assignments took him from the Philippines to Germany and various other foreign and domestic bases in between. After retiring with the rank of colonel, Bob returned with his family to Oak Ridge, where he remained until his death. In retirement, Bob took to reading, and, in his final years, his daughters tried in vain to keep him supplied with enough books to occupy his ever-curious mind. [Read more…]