NEWPORT NEWS — Denese Anita Gillis, 71, transitioned unexpectedly Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. She was our beloved mother, aunt, advocate and friend.
Denese was born Feb. 9, 1949, in Washington, D.C., to the late Harold Gillis and Gertrude Morgan. She was preceded in death by her sister, Doris Campbell; and her son, Daryl Hassan Jamaludeen.
Denese graduated from Saint Gabriel Catholic School, Washington, D.C., and continued her education at Howard University, where she earned a B.S. Degree in Nursing in 1973. Her strong desire for excellence propelled her to continue her education and she received an M.A. Degree in Education and Human Resource Development in 1988 from George Washington University and an M.S. Degree in Nursing Education in 2008 from Walden University. A passionate learner, she was always seeking to increase her knowledge through a series of specialty training in areas of mental health.
She grew up in Washington, D.C., and spent her early nursing years traveling around the city taking care of patients. In 1975, Denese moved from Washington, D.C., to Newport News with Dr. Abdul Hamid Jamaludeen, her husband at the time. She moved to Hampton in 1978 and took a break from her nursing career to raise her three children. She started working full time in 1981 and retired in November 2017.
Throughout her 36 years in the workforce, she held various nursing, administrative and teaching positions. Denese loved being a nurse and being a mentor to her students when she worked at New Horizons Technical Center, Riverside School of Professional Nursing and the Medical Careers Institute. Her students often commented that she was encouraging, kind, supportive, professional and helped them to be the best version of themselves.
She spent 15 years working at Eastern State Hospital, where she stayed employed until retirement. Her position as the staff development and training director allowed her to meet people from multiple areas of the hospital, and she developed several programs that impacted the organization in a positive way. She really enjoyed the people who were on her team and her strong work ethic was admired.
Denese was very excited about her retirement and spent her days helping others and being involved in some of her more creative passions, including water aerobics classes, church fellowship activities, volunteering in non-profit community projects and classes at Hampton University in the OSHER program to name a few. She really enjoyed learning about her family history and African American History through her involvement with Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
Denese was a devoted member of Calvary Community Church, Hampton. If anyone would ask, however, she would definitely say her biggest achievement was raising her three children who she adored and was very proud.
Denese Anita Gillis leaves to cherish her memory her daughter, Arkia Gowins of Baltimore, Maryland; son, Yusuf Jamaludeen of Centreville; goddaughter, Sherri Mason of Columbia, Maryland; nephew, Kenneth Campbell (Joe); and her most treasured friends, Kim Mason and Wanda N. Allen Esq. All her family and friends will sorely miss her.
Viewing will be held from 3 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 2, at O.H. Smith & Son Funeral Home. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private funeral service will be held. Please keep her family and those close to her in your thoughts and prayers.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution in honor of Denese A. Gillis to ASALH Hampton Roads, P.O. Box 5266 Newport News, VA 23605; or Howard University.
Share online condolences with the family at O.H. Smith & Son Funeral Home.
