Mr. William (Bill) Glenn Gilleland, 85, of Atlantic, formerly of Elliott, IA, passed away on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at Heritage House in Atlantic, IA.
Bill was born September 23, 1939 near Malvern, Iowa, the son of Francis and Marie (Ross) Gilleland. He moved frequently as a child, and lived across southwest Iowa and Missouri. He graduated from College Springs High School and was united in marriage to Nathalee Bill on June 17, 1962 in Rosendale, Missouri. Soon after they were married, Bill attended HVAC school and Nathalee became a cosmetologist. They moved to the Elliott area in 1964 after the birth of their first child, Pamela, and opened the Clip and Curl Beauty Salon, which Nathalee owned and operated for 22 years. Bill and Nathalee had two more daughters, Rhonda and Julie Anne, and the family of five lived on a small property opposite Pilot Grove Park before they built their home on the hill in 1976. Bill farmed and worked at various jobs, learning construction and all the skills needed to build this home. Bill and Nathalee started G’s Pizza Works in Griswold, which became famous for their G’s garlic bread. In 1995 they moved on to new careers at Harvey’s casino, where Bill promoted quickly in facilities maintenance and management at both Harvey’s and Harrah’s Casino and Nathalee managed many restaurants. He retired from the casino and kept busy with upkeep on their home, apartment ownership in Griswold and working for the Montgomery County Conservation office. Preceding him in death were his parents and four siblings: Phyllis, Betty, Eugene and Roger. In December 2016, Nathalee passed. They had been married for over 54 years. Bill spent the last several years living at Heritage House and with Pam and Randy in Atlantic, Iowa.
Survivors include his children: Pam Elwood (Randy) of Atlantic, IA; Rhonda Shanahan (Jim) of Castle Rock, CO; and Julie Gilleland of Brussels, Belgium; grandchildren: Tanya Fuller (TJ) of Portland, OR; Joshua Elwood of Des Moines, IA; Maximilian Elwood of Atlantic, IA; Emma Shanahan (Parker) of Castle Rock, CO; William Shanahan of Wichita, KS; Natan Verbeelen of Brussels, Belgium; Jack Shanahan of Castle Rock, CO; Kai Verbeelen and Eliot Verbeelen of Brussels, Belgium; Great Grandchildren: Ruby Fuller and Everett Muck; brother Lewis Gilleland of Lewis, IA and many other nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at Heritage House in Atlantic, IA, at 2:00 p.m. In honor of Bill, wear your favorite, most colorful clothes.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family for designation at a later date, they may be mailed to the Schmidt Family Funeral Home P.O. Box 523, Atlantic, IA 50022.
Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Atlantic is handling the arrangements.
