Giannillo and Chiles

Unrelated to the theme of Century, but a good memorial anecdote nonetheless.

“Augustin Giannillo, a local businessman, remembered Chiles as someone who didn’t put on airs. They struck up a friendship after Chiles walked into Giannillo’s Holmes Beach pizza shop back in the 1970s, when Chiles was a U.S. senator.
"When one of Giannillo’s sons became ill, Chiles arranged for the boy to be treated at a hospital in the nation’s capital. He also arranged for the boy to meet then-Vice President George Bush on a VIP-treatment trip to Daytona Beach. ‘This guy had the biggest heart in the world,’ Giannillo said. ‘He was a human being above all else.’
"Years later, Chiles was again a calming presence for Giannillo in a time of tragedy. When another of Giannillo’s sons died this August, he sent Giannillo a note of condolence. ‘He has done his job on Earth, and he’s with my son…now, walking along a beach somewhere,’ Giannillo said.”

Credit:

Haber, Gary and Kevin Horan. “Friends recall Chiles’ human touch.” Bradenton Herald.

December 13, 1998.