Don Gibson

Don Wray Gibson, 85, of Rockaway Beach, Oregon, passed away Dec. 16, 2021, at his home after a short illness.

Burial will be in Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada.

Mr. Gibson was born March 23, 1936, in Graham to James Grady “Hoot” Gibson and Agnes Hawley Gibson. He spent his grade school years in Artesia, New Mexico, and the family later moved to Farmington, New Mexico, where Don graduated from high school in 1954.

He joined the Air Force in the summer of 1954 and was stationed in Wilmington, Delaware, and Kisarazu, Japan.

He married Suzanne Welch April 5, 1959, in Durango, Colorado.

In 1963, he was hired by Xerox Corporation in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a service technician for the first copiers on the market, the 914 and 813 models. His service area included Las Vegas, Area 51 at the Nevada Test Site and Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley. In his 23 years with Xerox, he received many service awards. He retired in January 1987 out of the Salt Lake City office at age 50 with 23 years of service.

During retirement, Don and Sue volunteered at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, for two summers; traveled to Ireland twice, the Baja of Mexico one winter; Hawaii; and lived in their RV for 11 years in Imperial Beach, California.

Don took a post-retirement maintenance job working at Coronado Shores Condos, often riding his bicycle up the strand to his job.

After his second retirement, they moved to 510 W. Ross in Hamilton in 1998 and lived there 22 years before moving to Rockaway Beach in the call of 2020.

Don was preceded in death by a son, Brian Ray, his parents and a sister.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sue; daughter Lisa Gibson Shontz of Hurricane, Utah; sons James Kirk and Jackie of Las Vegas, Jay Warren of Los Angeles, California, and Patrick Wayne of Vancouver, Washington; grandsons Kyle and wife Ashlee, Justin, Wyatt, Matthew, Tyler and Koby; and a great-grandson, Levi James.