John Duncan Gibbon

John Duncan Gibbon was born May 17th, 1936, in Newcastle under Lyme, United Kingdom. He lived in Stoke-on-Trent, and then moved to Scotland where his father was based during WWII. Unfortunately, he lost his father to the war and then moved back to Stoke-on-Trent. John excelled in school growing up and was very active in the Boy Scouts. He received his Queen Scout award (the British equivalent of his Eagle Scout) and had the privilege of reviewing in front of the Queen Mother. John finished at his local school at the age of 17 and went to The University of Birmingham to study chemical engineering. While in school, he learned to sail and played on the rugby and basketball teams. He stayed active in College Scouts and also participated in English and Scottish dancing groups. John earned his doctorate in 1959. During his time at the university, he happened to meet his future wife, Doreen, at a College Scouting event. They ended up dancing together and eventually fell in love. John married Doreen in 1959 and moved to Rougham where John started his career at Bowaters. His two sons, David and Andrew, were born there and their small family flourished. John was then offered a position to lead research at ICI Research Centre in Harrogate. The family moved to a small farming village in Yorkshire where they enjoyed country life. During this time, his daughter, Susan, was born. Two years later, John was offered an opportunity to move to the United States to continue doing research. He accepted the opportunity to move overseas with his young family. They boarded the Queen Elizabeth and waved goodbye to relatives as they pulled away from the Southampton dock. After docking in New York, John and his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where John started a 30+ year career at Celanese. During his life in Charlotte, John was one of the founding members of Sardis Swim and Racquet Club. He also helped start the Charlotte Scottish Country Dance Society and was involved with the English country dance group. He was an avid tennis player and played until well into his 80’s. John was also a member of the Lake Norman Yacht Club where he raced Highlander sailboats. He kept busy with many activities including playing on the original Charlotte Cricket team and playing competitive badminton. He enjoyed celebrating his ties to Scotland by participating in Highland Games all over the east coast as a member of Clan Stuart. He was an active member of St. Michael’s Anglican Church where he was a member for over 30 years. John was always active, working on complex projects in his free time. As part of his work, John was awarded ten different patents by the United States government. John was a wonderful father and loved to take his family camping. He made sure his children saw every historic site on the east coast, including every battlefield he could find! After his children left home, he continued to travel with Doreen, but left the tent at home. They managed to see most of the United States and Europe and went on many different cruise vacations. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was always ready with his dry British wit. To his grandchildren, John was known as the computer granddad. He spent many hours playing children’s games and learning their letters with them. He also introduced all of them to sailing and took his granddaughter dancing. He helped his grandsons with scouts and had them join him as crew while racing sailboats. He played tennis with his granddaughter to help practice for school tennis tryouts. John was a fixture at their sporting events and activities. He also introduced them to the arts by taking them to the theater and concerts. John lived a very full life and was very loved by his family. He will be sorely missed. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Doreen Gibbon, and his eldest son, David Gibbon. He is survived by his son, Andrew Gibbon, and wife Natalie, his daughter, Susan Crosby, and husband Phillip, and grandchildren, Allen (wife Kelly), Michael, and Lara, and his sisters, Megan and Judith. A service to celebrate John’s life will be held at St. Michael’s Anglican Church on September 2nd, at 3:00 pm, with a reception in the fellowship hall to follow. Memorials can be made to St. Michael’s,, https://www.stmichaelsanglican.org/

John Duncan Gibbon

November 17, 1936 - August 28, 2024