For more than 50 years, Pillman served a variety of roles for his own mystic society and others. In 2010 he earned the HandsOn South Alabama Heart of Gold in Arts award for outstanding volunteer contributions to furthering the arts entities associated with Mardi Gras celebrations.
Pillman was a member of the first class to attend all eight grades at Little Flower Catholic School, graduated from McGill Institute and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was a talented artist, dancer and director, appearing in many musical productions of the Mobile Catholic Theatre Guild, later the Mobile Theatre Guild.
He was a regular volunteer at the Mobile Carnival Museum as a docent from its beginning and belonged to numerous mystic societies over the years, serving as king more than once.
"They picked me because I’m a song-and-dance man," Pillman told the Press-Register earlier this year.
Despite being in his early 80s, he remained active and was working with four mystic societies on tableaus for the upcoming 2011 carnival season.
"Wilbur was a pillar of Carnival in Mobile," said Mobile Carnival Association Chairman David J. Cooper. "He was an authority on historical Carnival data little known to many of us. His sincere love of Mardi Gras, and the Carnival Museum, was evident whenever you visited with him."
Survivors include one sister, Alilee Pillman, among others.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Radney Funeral Home, Dauphin Street, with the Rosary being recited at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church.
Memorials may be made to St. Catherine’s Building Fund. Interment will be in Catholic Cemetery.
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