Funeral service will be held 9:00 AM on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at Warner Temple AME Zion Church.  Burial will follow in the Wilmington National Cemetery.  Visitation is from 5:30-8:00 PM on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, at the funeral home.

Frances Delores McGhee Tillie was born on July 21,1956, to Thelma McGhee Williams in New Hanover County. On Tuesday, December 24, 2024, on Christmas Eve our beloved Frances Delores McGhee Tillie was called home. Frances graduated from New Hanover High School class of 1974.  After graduation she enlisted in the United States Army on the day after her 18th birthday. Originally enlisting for three years through July 1977. She married William Tillie Jr. of South Carolina and had her firstborn child, named Crystal. Frances re-enlisted into the Army in March 1979, becoming an elite member of her supply unit. Frances traveled abroad to Germany where she would have her second child William Tillie, Ill, calling him "Bear" for short.  After coming back from Germany she was stationed at Fort Dix, NJ where she would lose her beloved son to cancer in June 1986. Frances moved up in rank and was awarded several ribbons, badges, medals, and decorations. She traveled back to Germany for a second tour. She also served her country in Operation Desert Storm. Frances returned home and settled at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. It is there where she took on the responsibility of raising her 8-year-old nephew Angeleos Roamel Williams.  Frances will do her last tour in Seoul, Korea retiring from the military in August of 1998 achieving the rank of Master Sergeant after a 23-year career. Once Frances became a grandmother, she played a pivotal role in both of her grandchildren's lives-Azane and Levon, seeing them through all of their accomplishments while molding them into young adults, practically raising them as well.  Frances truly loved her family, whether it was lending a helping hand or lending an ear, she was going to "be there".