In Memory of Ben Tillman

(Editor’s note: The following remarks were made by Kenneth Ellis Pope at the funeral of Ben Tillman. Several people asked Kenneth to share them with others by having them published. The following is what he said.)

I will never forget the day many years ago when Mack Tillman came to me and asked “What do you think about Ben taking over the restaurant?” I told him I thought that would be great, but I didn’t know how it was going to go since Ben was such a quiet, shy person. But once he got into the business he came out of his shell and made everybody feel welcome and happy while they were at the restaurant.

Ben was a Gentle Giant and stood like a great oak tree with his branches touching many people.

Ben didn’t care how far he had to go to make people happy. He has catered many parties for me and my coworkers at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Lanier. In that area we could of gotten anyone to do it but they always wanted Ben for his good food, and also they enjoyed his making them laugh while being there.

Ben was a great family man and loved all children because he was just a Big Kid at heart himself.

Myself, and many others, will miss him especially at times like these. There’s probably not many families in Jasper County that were not greeted by Ben or one of his workers with a tray of sausage biscuits when they had a loved one to pass away.

And on Christmas Day you could always count on a visit from Ben to see what the kids got, and he always sat down and played with their new toys.

I would also like to mention the prayer breakfast group that met at the restaurant on Friday mornings before school. He had been sponsoring this group with a $500 scholarship to a deserving senior for about seven years. I felt very fortunate this year when Ben asked me to present this award in his absence.

On Friday afternoon when Tom called me with the devastating news I was in total shock. My life changed right then when I lost my best friend.

I struggled with this all weekend until God spoke to me on Sunday morning and reminded me of all the wonderful memories of Ben, but most importantly of the time that Ben told me about going to Macedonia Baptist Church in Jackson to see the Strength Team, a traveling evangelist group.

He told me that he felt good about going there he felt so good about going there and that night he had accepted Christ as his Savior. So now I know that one day I will see Ben again and so can everyone else here if you accept Christ into your heart.

This is what I have to hang on to to get me through each day until I do see Ben again.

Miss Margie, I know you will miss Ben coming to your house every afternoon for a short nap and visit. But we have so many great memories to hold on to, and with God’s help we will make it through. This is what Ben would want us to do.
Family, I am here for you anytime night or day; please don’t hesitate to call on me. Because there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for Ben Tillman—my brother, and my Best Friend.

Thank you,
Kenneth Ellis Pope