Obituary of George Ronald Giberson

George Ronald “Gib” “Ronnie” Giberson died on March 19, 2020.  He was a father of two, grandfather of many, great grandfather of one and one on the way. He was born on March 1, 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father (also George), was born in Vancouver, and his grandfather, Ziba, was a pioneer in the lumber industry in British Columbia. Gib enjoyed researching family history and was amused to find out that Ziba’s great-great-great grandfather was John William Giberson, a United Empire Loyalist who had fled New Jersey and settled in New Brunswick, Canada, to be closer to other supporters of King George.  

Gib and his wife, Joyce, immigrated to the United States in 1954, settling in Seattle on their way to the Promised Land of California. They both became naturalized U.S. citizens in about 1962. Gib put himself through Seattle University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering, in the early 1960s, while working at Kenworth Motor Truck Company and with two kids and a wife at home. Ever the engineer, he always had four pens in his pocket (with the protector for a long time), and calculated anything and everything before he made a move. He wasn’t a big sports fan or outdoorsman, but he did enjoy wading out in the low tide for Dungeness crabs in between Sandy Point and Lummi Island.   He proudly showed off the crab snare he invented - a low tech broom handle with a length of clothesline looped through a hook at the end that allowed you to snare a crab leg peeking out of the eelgrass and placing it in a bucket without too much fuss.

Later, his career was made at Ford Motor Company as a dealer service instructor.  He was known for his expertise in everything automobile. He retired from the company in the late 1990s.

Gib loved Joyce very much, and their worlds revolved around each other. In retirement, they made an annual pilgrimage to Hawaii, and took several cruises, including one around the Panama Canal. Gib was typically seen in the spring and summer on his knees in the garden making all sorts of things grow and thrive.

He was also known for his unusual sense of humor and was an endless source of facts about the world around us. He imparted to his family the importance of hard work and self-discipline, and they are forever indebted to him for that.

“All of us will miss you Dad, but we are also glad that you are back with Mom and other beloved members our family who have gone on to the next adventure.”

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