Robert Conrad Gibson
14 November 1926 – 28 February 2012
Robert Conrad Gibson – 86 – was welcomed into the Arms of Our Lord on 28 February 2013. He had been born to Harold and Clara Gibson 14 November 1926, in Buffalo, New York. To cherish his memory, he leaves his devoted wife, Peggy (Riker), of 23 years. His first wife, Edith (Lourenson), of 37 years, preceded him into the Kingdom of Heaven in 1987. Through their union they were blessed with four children: Robert Gibson and wife Vicki of Charlotte, NC; Nancy (Gibson) Phillips and husband Glenn of Hanover, PA; Mark Gibson and wife Veronica of Severna Park, MD; and Kathy Gibson of Trappe, PA. Additionally, he was step-father to Peggy’s son Robert May and wife Ginny of Jeffersonville, PA. Robert was “Pop-Pop” to nine Grandchildren and a Great Grandfather to one. Growing up in Germantown area of Philadelphia, he graduated from GHS in 1945. He served in the United States Army in Europe at the end of World War II; attaining the rank of Tech Sgt. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and played semi-professional football, winning two city titles as a 145LB pulling guard on the Stenton Rams in 1947 and 1948. Robert made a career in the automotive industry, first as a mechanic and then moving into the sales and management areas of the business – eventually managing Robert Lee’s Automotive Leasing Office. In 1950, he married Edith and in 1955 moved his family to the suburban Philadelphia town of Hatboro, vacationing during the summers in Ocean City, NJ. Having purchased a small boat in the mid-1970’s, he lead the entire family into a love of waterskiing – an activity Robert continued into his 70’s. An avid photographer, Robert filled more than 50 albums full of pictures of his family as they grew up, at one point entering a contest on the Ocean City Boardwalk as an amateur and awarded “Best in Show”. In the basement he built an impressive wood shop and honed his skills to the point in which he built much of the furniture in the home. After retirement, he moved with Peggy to Ocean City for two decades and then eventually to a retirement community in Seaville, NJ. He and Peggy enjoyed taking cruises to the Caribbean and visiting Paris for a week or so each year.
An 11:00 A.M. graveside service for family and friends will be held at Hatboro Cemetery, 36 Fulmore Ave., Hatboro, PA on March 9, 2013. A reception will immediately follow at 28 Centre Ave., Jeffersonville, PA.
Donations may be made to Beacon Animal Rescue, 701 Butter Road, Ocean View, and NJ 08230.