Marriage
When Marie was 24 years old, in 1943, she went with a girlfriend to a dance at Scott Air Force Base. which is in St. Clair County, near Belleville, Illinois, in the St. Louis metropolitan area. She recounted that she walked in the door and her eyes met those of David Bluit Gilliam (Dave), a 26-year-old serviceman from Benton, Kentucky, who was standing across the room. It was "love at first sight," according to her, and she has always said that she knew she would eventually marry him.
Marie married Dave in 1943. Dave went overseas, and Marie continued to live at home. She worked as a suitmaker. Marie would take the train to meet Dave whenever he was in the United States.
Dave and Marie after they married in 1943,
sitting on the steps of the Badamis' house on Belt Avenue.
When Dave was discharged in 1945, Marie moved with him back to his hometown of Benton, Kentucky. Marie was an excellent cook, who made everything from "scratch." They opened a restaurant with Dave's sisters, Eileen and Julia, and Julia's husband, Carl, which lasted until Annette was born April 16, 1947. The restaurant did not make sufficient income to support three families, so they closed it. Dave and Marie moved to St. Louis to live with Ben and Lena, so they could get jobs and have family to babysit Annette.
The Life and Times of
Marie Victorina Badami Gilliam
February 10, 1919 - August 17, 2006
Marie on the left, with Bert's son, Joey (~1 yr), and Annette (~6 mos)
