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John Gibson
December 30, 1928 - May 30, 2016
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<div itemprop="description">Gibson, John Alan <br> <br>John Alan Gibson died in Kingston, Ontario on May 30, 2016. Born December 30, 1928, son of the late Clifford and Ruby Gibson. He is survived by his much-loved wife of 61 years, Anne; children Mark (Mary), Scott (Joanne) and Jennifer (Christy); sister Mary (Alan) Kerr; grandchildren Catherine, Sarah (Dan), Ben and Mitch. <br> <br>John was born in Salisbury, MD in 1928 and lived in the Atacama Desert region of Chile until age five. The family then moved to Timmins where John spent the remainder of his childhood. With military life still on everyone’s mind in the late 40’s, he made the decision to train in the American army as a tank driver as an investment for future post-secondary education. His mistake was to sign up for the American Reserves because he was summoned to serve in the Korean War. There he was awarded a bronze star, unbeknownst to anyone until just recently, for putting out flames that were engulfing a neighbouring tank while in the midst of active combat. After the war, he returned to Canada, earning a BA at Western, and later married Anne and worked as a photographer and journalist for the St. Catharines Standard, then The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. He moved into public relations with McLaren’s Advertising, then for himself with Gibson & Associates, and finally with the Public Affairs Bureau of the Alberta Government, the first centralized government public relations service in North America. After he retired, he took up sailing, enjoying the challenge of his 33 foot Nonsuch and took up numerous other hobbies, doing what he loved most: trying something he’d never done before. His sense of humour was his hallmark, even in the final stages of dementia, his smile lighting up a room. <br> <br>The family wishes to thank the staff and volunteers at Providence Care for their kindness towards John during the last years of his life as he suffered the debilitating effects of vascular dementia. <br> <br>Memorial service will be held at the CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE, 270 King Street East, on Monday, June 13th at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. As expressions of sympathy, donations to St. George’s Cathedral or Lunch by George via www.stgeorgescathedral.ca would be appreciated by the family. Arrangements are under the direction of ROBERT J. REID & SONS – The Chapel on the Corner.</div>