Obituary of Kenneth Frederick Gibbs

Kenneth F. Gibbs SENECA FALLS– Kenneth Frederick Gibbs, 89, passed away on Sunday (February 5, 2017) at home with his daughter by his side. There will be no calling hours. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. on Friday (February 10, 2017) at the Calvary Chapel, 2291 Route 89, Seneca Falls, NY. Raymond Torrey, pastor, will officiate. Spring burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery in Waterloo, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Leukemia Society of America, Inc., Fingers Lakes Chapter, 15 Prince Street, 3rd Floor, Rochester, New York, NY 14607. Ken was born January 18, 1928 in Waterloo, N.Y, the youngest son of 11 children to Fay L. and Amanda C. DeVine Gibbs, both natives of Bradford County, PA. He married Georgia A. Thomas in 1950 and raised seven children in Waterloo for 45 years. Ken later married Julia Carey of Canandaigua, they were married nearly 20 years when she passed. As a child, Ken enjoyed staying up listening to his siblings play music and running horses with childhood friend, John Stahlnecker. He started working at age 10 in the marshes of the Finger Lakes and at 18 joined the military with friend, Bob Jolly, where he studied map making and blue prints in Washington.Ken had been employed by many companies including Elmira's Pacific Railroad, Seneca Ordnance, the New York State Highway and Sylvania, before retiring from International Paper after 26 years in 1990. Ken was someone you could always count on to be in your corner and fight for you, especially his grandkids. He was a fun, loving dad with a great sense of humor. When he told a story about something he cared about, the whole room lit up. He had the biggest sweet tooth with a special love for dark chocolate. Ken could play mahjong for hour, he loved a brain teaser. He liked Patricia Cornwell and Stephen King novels, watching WGN, SciFi films and had an eye for photography. He will be greatly missed. Ken is survived by sons Stan Gibbs of Phoenix, Ariz., Gary Gibbs of Henderson, Nev., Richard Gibbs of London, Ohio and Brent (Carol) Gibbs of Seneca Falls; daughters Joanne Alvino of Waverly, N.Y. and Jean Gibbs of Waterloo; daughter-in-law, Phyllis Gibbs of Grove City, Ohio; grandchildren David, Jonathan, Joy, Jenny, Jeffrey and Kristy; great-grandchildren Tyler, Amelia and Hannah; sisters Eleanor Howell of Geneva and Vera Lerkins of Seneca Falls; many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, Georgia Ann Thomas; son, Dale Gibbs; second wife, Julia Carey; siblings Stuart, Lawrence, Alfred, and John W. Gibbs, Lillian Barner, Emma Jameson, Viola Boris and Beryl Parish.