Susan Marie Warmack Violette Tillman, age 102, peacefully passed in her home on September 13, 2024.  Susan was the eldest of five children born in Springfield, Ohio on June 28, 1922.  Preceded her in death were her mother, Hazel Marie (Campbell) Warmack; her father, Oliver Perry Warmack, and three sisters, Leoda Jane Coleman, Joan Geneva Crockett, and Patricia Louise Brown, and one brother, Oliver Perry Warmack Jr.  She is also preceded by death by her husband, Lollace Tillman; two daughters, Janet Marie (Violette) Craig and Judith Ann (Violette) Martin; one son, Jeffrey Lehman Tillman; one grandson, Vincent Steven Craig; two granddaughters, Deborah Louise Martin and Karen Kay Craig, and one great-grandson, Donnie Craig Jr.

Susan had been a member of St John Baptist Church for 84 years.   She accepted Christ at eighteen years of age but, attended Sunday School as young as she can remember.  She wrote the following in one of her journals: 'I'm at ease with the church ministry and fellowship and involved in Mass choir, Senior Choir, Sunday School, Operation Homework, and Golden Agers.'  Words could not express how she felt on May 16, 1993, when she was nominated Woman of the Year, and how she always expressed her love for Pastor Ernest C. Brown.

This is just a fraction of Susan Tillman's life.  Her mother gave birth to her in their Springfield home on Chestnut Ave. assisted by a midwife named Mother Beaumont. The family later moved to 526 West Clark. In the backyard, her father had a carpenter business named Thomas & Warmack MFG CO.  She treasured and kept several items he made: such as a desk with secret compartments, a footstool, a lamp, and a piano bench.   Susan attended the Old Fulton School on Dibert Ave. where she learned to have that beautiful penmanship.  She talked about how a specific teacher would come once a week to every classroom to teach cursive writing. She attended old Kiefer Jr. High on Wittenberg Ave. and Springfield High School on South Limestone.

While in the tenth grade, a math teacher accused her of cheating on an Algebra test. He did not doubt that she cheated on her best friend's paper, who happens to be White.  She stayed after school to take the test over. Her first score was 92. Her second score was 99.  After mentioning the Math incident, Susan recalled an incident in one of her night classes where her classmates laughed at her because she wanted to be a lawyer and have a home with a white picket fence.

It was interesting listening as she reminisced about her first date going to the colored theater on Fair Street before it became the Masonic Temple. And how Antonio Violette became her first love as a teenager. And how teenage pregnancy changed her life.  She had to drop out of high school in her senior year. Antonio and Susan decided to drive to Indiana to get married but, couldn't because they didn't have a blood test.  Despite this, they both were married in their hearts. Then one day Susan's Dad left Ohio without a word.  She decided to work not only to help support her family but also her mother and four siblings. For many years she thought she was the cause for her dad leaving Ohio because her father, Oliver Perry Warmack, was a perfectionist and wanted more for his eldest daughter. Practically fifty years later the truth was revealed. Susan Marie Warmack was not the cause.

One day on her first job working downtown Springfield she decided to eat lunch with the other employees at the counter. Her boss asked, "What are you doing Susan?"  She replied, "I am eating my lunch like everyone else."   Her boss stated, "YOU CAN'T EAT THERE." Susan didn't say a word she just got up and never returned. Later she landed a sameday hire at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. She stayed there long enough to purchase her home in 1943 at the age of 21 for $1450 and her final check from WPAFB was her final mortgage payment in 1950 at the age of 28. Just imagine paying twenty-four dollars a month. 1943 was a bittersweet year for Susan, she purchased her home and her brother died at the age of 15.  The Springfield News headlines read Youth Loses Life in Futile Attempt to Save 12-Year-Old. Both boys died in Buck Creek. The twelve-year-old was White.

She later met and married Lollace Tillman on October 27, 1947. Mercy Hospital opened in 1950 and her life work career began.

Therefore, a special mention to the mothers in the Springfield Community who gave birth from 1950 to 1986 either at the old Mercy Hospital on Fountain Ave. or the old Springfield City Community Hospital on High Street.  Mrs. Tillman's job title was Ward Secretary but known today as Birth Certificate Clerk. She was the lady who entered your room with a smile to obtain information to enable her to complete your precious newborn's birth certificate. Throughout her retirement years, some expressed how her gentle spirit, encouraging words, and beautiful penmanship were most memorable.

There are many more amazing stories of her life experiences. Susan went back to school to obtain her high school diploma. She took courses at Wittenberg University. Her goal still was to become a lawyer. But family always became priority.

Her favorite pastimes were writing, reading, gardening, traveling and roller skating. She kept on rolling skating well into her sixties.  She earned the nickname Grandma the Superhero Skater.  Yes, she was the superhero in all aspects of her 102 years of living.  She was resilient because she used her setbacks as a setup to move forward. She was not quick to anger, very giving, and firm. Most important of all she was steadfast in the Word of God and treated all persons equally. She witnessed ten decades of changes; some she didn't understand. She had the perfect peace. She was ready to leave Earth. Every morning, she would give a coffee toast to all of those gone before her and always a special prayer asking for blessings and success to all of her grandchildren.

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Her memory will be cherished by her children, Joyce Juanita Wilson, Jerran Sue Tillman, and Jerald Lollace Tillman, 21 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren, 73 great-great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-great grandchildren, and a host of nephews and nieces.

THIS WOMAN, OUR MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER, AUNT, AND FRIEND WAS TRULY BLESSED AT 102.

Funeral service will be on September 26, 2024, at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 34 W Pleasant Street, Springfield, Ohio—visitation from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM with services at 11:00 AM. Livestream will be provided by St. John Missionary Baptist Church.   saintjohnmbc.org/funerals