Mildred Gillam, 84; compiled a 'people's history' of Phila.

Mildred Webb Gillam, 84, formerly of Jeffersonville, coeditor of

Invisible Philadelphia: Community Through Voluntary Organizations

, died of cancer Jan. 25 at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown.

She lived in the Foulkeways at Gwynedd retirement community.

Mrs. Gillam and Jean Barth Toll worked for 12 years to tell stories of thousands of volunteer organizations in Philadelphia.

The 1,300-page book, published by the Atwater Kent Museum in 1995, was described by Mrs. Gillam as a "people's history." The 578 essays include stories of the city's upper-class clubs and an account of the founding of the first Greek-letter fraternity for influential African American men, Sigma Pi Phi, in Philadelphia in 1904.

Mrs. Gillam and Toll, who died in 1999, were inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville's observation, printed on the book's opening page, that "Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations."

To fund their effort, the women secured a dozen grants totaling $44,000. They and the essay writers, often officials of the organizations they profiled, were unpaid.

Among the organizations were the Pennsylvania Prison Society, formed by Benjamin Franklin and friends to improve treatment of inmates at the Walnut Street Jail, and the White-Williams Foundation to aid needy high school students, which evolved from the Magdalen Society established in 1800 to aid unwed mothers.

The list of Philadelphia firsts in the book range from the first fire company to the first Ronald McDonald House.

Mrs. Gillam and Toll came up with the concept for the book after working in 1984 on a two-volume history of Montgomery County, which included a section on volunteerism. Mrs. Gillam served on the board of the Montgomery County Historical Society and was secretary from 1984 to 2002.

She was also a member of the Octave Club, a music group in Norristown; the Conversational Club of Norristown; and the Rittenhouse Questors. She served on the board of the Norristown Ministries.

Her most enduring volunteer effort was the soup kitchen the ministries sponsored.

She helped found it in 1982, often made the soup, and was still buying supplies last month, said her husband, Clifford R. Jr.

A retired banker, he volunteered at the soup kitchen, too.

Mrs. Gillam, whose father was an Army dentist, grew up on military bases all over the country.

In 1944 she married Richard Stickney, a cadet she had met at a dance at West Point.

A lieutenant, he was killed in action in the Pacific in 1945 during World War II.

She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature at Swarthmore in 1947 and the next year married Gillam, whom she had met at Swarthmore.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by sons S. Kirk and William; a daughter, Marian Faris; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. March 7 at Norristown Friends Meeting, Swede and Jacoby Streets.

Memorial donations may be made to Norristown Ministries, 530 Church St., Norristown, Pa. 19401.