Elizabeth Gillum

Family will receive friends from 3:00 - 6:00 pm CT., Sunday, February 1, 2025 at Elizabeth's mothers home: 4080 Country Road 88 in Glen Ullin. 

Elizabeth passed away Saturday, January 25, 2025 at Sanford Health in Bismarck.

This morning at 7:33 out in North Dakota, we lost Elizabeth to a quick-moving cancer. She was a mix of natural talents, deep intuition and charismatic spirit. She was the first born of the five siblings, and she made sure the rest of us understood her place in the birth order. She believed in the general goodness of people until they proved otherwise. She was fiercely loyal to those who supported her in friendship, and she made sure no one picked on her siblings. She was also headstrong and possessed a level of stubbornness that can only be described as genetically given from both her Gillum and Putman ancestors, and she always spoke her truth, no matter what that lead to. She was immensely proud of the two men that her boys, Ted and Ben, have grown into and the families and friendships that they have formed. When she moved to North Dakota in support of our parents' choice to retire there around the year 2000, she built a life of fierce independence, working jobs surrounding the Bismarck area and recently retired to serve as caregiver for our mother. We are so grateful to her for her aggressive advocacy for our mother’s health and wishes when mom broke her hip in September. When the nursing home said Mom’s progress had plateaued and wanted to move her into permanent placement, Beth took her home and through her continued advocacy and tough love, Mom continued to improve and has regained a decent level of independence and mobility. Her sisters and sons are truly sorry, Beth, we were not able to be present to help push the medical system to be of greater help to you. We are deeply grateful to her friend Stephanie who advocated on her behalf. Beth, we are glad you are no longer in pain, and are with Dad and our brother Bruce.

Beth is survived by her sons, Benjamin Roberts of Atlanta, GA, Theodore (Kristen) Roberts of Grand Rapids, MI; her mother, Nancy Gillum of Glen Ullin; siblings, Margaret (Tom) Watson, Hudsonville MI, Patricia Gillum of Dexter MI, Retha Vaneck of Stevensville MI; two grandchildren, Joel and Claire; sister-in-law, Sarah Gillum of Kalamazoo, MI; and special friend, Stephanie Johnson of Glen Ullin.

She is preceded in death by her father, James Gillum; and her brother, Bruce Gillum.