Tom Gilliland, commandant of trainees at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., passed away Sept. 4 following a stroke. He was 57.
“He touched the lives of so many trainees,” said Bart Rogers, manpower director at the Southern Maryland-based maritime institution. “Tom always believed that each trainee would be successful with the right leadership, and he worked tirelessly to that end. It was his belief that no obstacle was too large that it could not be overcome.
“You don’t replace a man like Tom,” Rogers concluded. “You learn from him.”
Paul Hall Center Vice President Don Nolan remembered Gilliland as someone who “truly cared about people and went out of his way to help. He was devoted to his job and he certainly will be missed.”
J.C. Wiegman, assistant director of training at the Paul Hall Center, said Gilliland emphasized “respect for yourself and others, and responsibility for all of your actions. That’s what he preached to the trainees.
“He was salty from his time in the Navy, but he always provided those apprentices with steady guidance and an even keel.”
Born in Washington, D.C., Gilliland was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served 25 years and rose to the rank of senior chief petty officer. Among his military decorations were the National Defense Medal and several Vietnam service medals. He was a naval instructor, first class Navy diver, tug captain, and landing craft utility captain. Gilliland held a captain’s license of 100 tons near coastal and was a specially trained search and rescue expert.
He joined the staff of the Paul Hall Center in May 1990 and dedicated the next 15 years of his life serving as a deck instructor. He once conducted lifeboat training aboard the old cruise ships Independence and Constitution in Honolulu over the Christmas holiday, stepping forward to help meet an immediate need for such instruction.
Gilliland most recently served as commandant of trainees at the Paul Hall Center, assuming command in March of this year. It was in this position that he particularly is credited with making a huge difference.
Gilliland is survived by his wife, Dawn; two daughters, Eva Marie Connelly of Jacksonville, Fla., and Kelly Marie Castle of Lexington Park, Md.; two brothers, Charles Gilliland of Altoona, Pa., and Michael Gilliland of Johnstown, Pa.; and two grandchildren, Sara Marie and Annabella Grace. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Rick and Norman Gilliland.
A private memorial service was conducted by Gilliland’s family members shortly after his death. The trainees and staff of the Paul Hall Center on Sept. 18 said their goodbyes to Gilliland during a special tribute ceremony in his honor at the school.
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