Vivian Tillman

Mrs. Vivian Tillman affectionately known as "Eartha Lee" was born at the Confederate Hospital, now known as University Hospital, on June18, 1935 to George and Charlotte McKinney. She was the 10th of 11 children. She was raised in church and accepted Christ at the age of 15 at Springfield Baptist Church and was baptized on the 4^th Sunday in August in 1950 under the leadership of D.M. Barnett. While in school she excelled and was a prodigy of basketball. She was so gifted that she and three other young ladies at Booker T. Washington were given the opportunity to go play in Russia behind the Iron Curtain. Life and times were different then and as a result of that Mama Charlotte declined to let her go and the other three young ladies didn\'t go either. She married Paul Pratt in 1953 and was the proud mother of seven children; Ivy, Joe Paul, Clyde, Dennis, Linda, Shelton, and Lloyd. She later married James Tillman on December 13, 1974 and they welcomed one daughter, Arneka, into the world. She worked faithfully at Security Industrial Insurance as a staff manager for 23 years until she had a debilitating stroke September 25, 1999. She has displayed remarkable strength and resilience throughout the years. She defied doctors who said she would never walk again. She not only walked but she could get in and out of bed, go to the bathroom, shower, cook and dress herself for a decade after her stroke. God said well done on June 11, 2017, at Ochsner Medical Center, Slidell, LA, and welcomed her home. She is the epitome of strength, determination, and courage and will forever be missed!