Obituary of George Martin Hibberd

George Martin Hibberd George Martin Hibberd passed away on Saturday, April 12, 2008. He was born to George and Laura Hibberd on November 5, 1919 in Seattle. The family moved to Olympia when George Jr. was 5 where his father opened a body and fender shop on 4th Ave. which remained open for 20 years. George graduated from Olympia High School in 1937 and married his high school sweetheart, Zetta Havens, shortly after. They set up housekeeping in Seattle where George worked for a menswear store. After a short time he took a job in Tacoma with Klopfensteins, another menswear store. He was lured away from the retail business and into sales by Blake, Moffit, and Towne, which specialized in a wide variety of paper products. Although he was very successful in his new line of work, he decided to move his young family, which now included his 2 year old son, Scott, to Olympia and entered into a partnership with Clint Cole, opening Hibberd & Cole Gentlemen’s Apparel in 1946. Although Clint Cole passed away just 3 short years into the business, George retained the name and remained in business for over 40 years. Both of his sons, Scott and Brett, were valued assets to the family business until it closed its doors in 1987. Enjoying retirement, George and Zetta were long-time members of St. John’s Episcopal Church and The Olympia Golf & Country Club. George was also a long-time member of The Olympia Elks and Rotary. He enjoyed people and maintained many friendships cultivated during his years in retail. Although he was very ill the last few months of his life, he took great joy in talking about how much he loved his wife and what a great lady she was. Zetta, his wife of 65 years, preceded him in death in March of 2008. George is survived by his two sons, Scott (wife Bobbi) and Brett (wife Kellie); four grandchidren; four great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Those who knew George knew how much he loved his two sons and all his family. He will be loved and missed very much by all. At George’s request there will be no funeral service. A celebration of both George and Zetta’s life will be held at a later date. Anyone wishing to make a memorial donation, is asked to do so to their favorite charity.