Lloyd Gilmore was laid to rest today. He died in the custody of the Sikeston Police Department on June 10th.
Cornerstone Baptist Church in Sikeston was packed. Around the room, you saw folks of different walks of life, all affected by or moved by Lloyd at some point in their life. A few, likely, moved too after his death. Many of his loved ones spoke, folks sang, and gave praise.
His daughter, Lania Gilmore, gave the speech she’d been preparing.
“As I’ve been going through my grieving… I realized that my purpose has always been justice, but not only for my dad, for the whole community. In a world full of freedom, we still face liminality. For those who don’t know what this means, it means being in a transitional state between two boundaries… When your limits are stretched too far for too long, the ongoing anxiety creates severe fatigue, anxiety, and depression. It can disrupt your sense of identity and direction, leaving you feeling entirely drained. This is forced on us, no matter which route we took, we always ended up suffering silently or out loud… All the silent battles, misunderstandings, nights fighting… Now it’s time to let God show us who God is by trusting him, even when we don’t see the way.”
Lloyd Gilmore also had a son, who he did not know very well, but got to get to know later on in his life. He spoke at the funeral, saying, he appreciated being able to get to know his father the way he would get to know someone else.
“I appreciated getting to hear his story directly from him, and not the watered down angry version from other people… Understand, his words, they did have power… He was really able to lift someone up… I wish I could have been more for him, even though it wasn’t my responsibility. It’s the second time I lost a person that I felt like I wasn’t done with… I wasn’t able to have that last conversation. You never know how much time you have left with someone.”
Then, one of Lloyd’s best friends, “Uncle Vernie” came up to speak.
“My kids call him Uncle Lloyd, and his kids call me Uncle Vernie… Our mothers will tell you, we’re inseparable. For the last 30 some off years, we been on each other’s side. And this is the last time we’re gonna see each other.”
Andre Young, another one of Lloyd’s family members, spoke on how powerful and moving Lloyd could be.
“He had a heart of strength and a heart of power, you could see it. I didn’t think he could have died, but he ain’t gone nowhere, because he’s still here… I love you man, I just wanna argue with you one more time.”
The way people spoke of Lloyd tells me — he expressed himself with a lot of passion. He was excited about life, his thoughts, and also God.
Though Lloyd is now laid to rest, this does not mean his story is over. His death has sparked serious conversation among his family and the community over the conditions we find ourselves here in Sikeston, and what should happen to make those conditions better. The investigation into Lloyd’s death is also still ongoing, and the family is determined to ensure that his story, legacy, and impact are not forgotten.
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