Frank Ellis Christian Sr., 94, passed away on Saturday April 12, 2025. He retired from Norfolk Southern Railway where he was a supervisor of C&S Communication and Signals. He was a member of the First Families of Tennessee and the National Society of the Sons of The American Revolution. Frank and his late wife, Ruth, would dress in historic clothing and participate in The Commemorative March of The Overmountain Men and their victory trail toward the Kings Mountain campaign of 1780. He volunteered in Parks with the National Park Service in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park area. He and his late wife spent twenty plus years traveling around researching and collecting information on their family genealogy.
He was preceded in death by Loving Wife, Ruth Christian; his son Edward Eugene (Gene) Gilliam; his sisters Naomi Johnson, Elsie Reed, Opal Vandergriff, and two brothers as infants; Parents Eldridge and Mary Christian .
He is survived by his son, Frank Christian, Jr. and wife Pamela of Maryville, TN; daughter, Deborah Christian of Knoxville, TN; Daughter-in-Law, Kay Gilliam of Maryville, TN; 8 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren; a host of friends.
The family will receive friends at the Gilliam Funeral Home in Big Stone Gap from 11:00am to 1:00pm Friday April 18, 2025 Funeral service will be at 1:00pm on Friday April 18, 2025 in the funeral home Chapel with Steve Maddox officiating. Burial will follow after the funeral at Powell Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
Gilliam Funeral Home and Crematory is honored to serve the Christian family.
To view the obituary online and offer condolences, visit www.gilliamfuneralhome.com or the funeral home Facebook page.