Gerald (“Gerry”) Patrick Gibbons (1929-2018)

A Christmas baby, Gerry grew up on the Gibbons homestead in Wayside, Wisconsin, not far from Green Bay, with his parents, William and Kathryn, and siblings, Jack, Don, Mary, and Bill. He attended St. Norbert College for two years and, after his military service, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering.

It was from the farm in Wisconsin that young Gerry witnessed Howard Hughes flying across the country, and, from that moment, his heart leapt forever into the skies. Gerry entered the United States Air Force in 1950, was assigned to Strategic Air Command, and flew B-29s during the Korean conflict.
After leaving active duty in 1953, he continued his service in the USAF Reserve until the early 1960s, achieving the rank of Captain, flying T-33s, F-80s and various transport aircraft. His engineering education and flight experience came together when he worked on a variety of spacecraft systems at Grumman Aerospace, most notably on LM-7 (aka ‘Aquarius’), the lunar module of Apollo XIII, which famously saved the lives of Captain James Lovell and his crew. It was this connection that inspired a visit from Captain Lovell during Gerry’s final weeks.

Flight was also the key to Gerry’s courtship of Margaret “Peggy” Woods of Brooklyn, NY. The soon-to-be Mr. & Mrs. Gibbons met while Gerry was exploring a possible career in commercial aviation while also fulfilling his required flight hours in the USAF Reserve, flying from Mitchell Field in Milwaukee to Mitchel Field in New York. The two were married in 1957, lived briefly in Middleton, WI; San Diego, and the Milwaukee area before ultimately settling in Lake Ronkonkoma, NY. There, they raised their six children:
Helen, Bill, Nora, Kathleen, Sean, and Gerry. He moved to Gurnee, IL in 2014.

A man of few words, Gerry nonetheless had an exciting and full life. Beloved by his children, nine grandchildren, siblings-in-law, children-in-law and many friends and family, his interests ranged from the fairly tame to the intentionally dangerous: reading, deer hunting, riding his Harley, fixing up cars, and adopting dogs of all sizes. Gerry was the best of both the rebel and the family man: he kept his wicked sense of humor to the end, but his big heart would help a church in need of more ushers or a stranger by the side of the road.