John H. ("Jack") Gibbon (1893-1948)
O'Brien County Bell, 31 Mar 1948, p. 1
Former Primgharite Passes Away at Home In Arkansas
Jack Gibbon, formerly of Primghar, died at his home at Batesville, Ark., Tuesday morning after an illness that confined him to his bed for almost 4 months. Funeral services were held here Saturday at 2:00 o'clock from the Congregational church, with Rev. A. M. Lotte in charge.
Mr. Gibbon, son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Metcalf, was well known here, having served as dispatcher at the I. C. depot for several years. His wife, and his brother Jim of Paijette [sic], Idaho, will accompany the remains here Friday.
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O'Brien County Bell, 7 Apr, 1948, p. 4
Obituary
John H. Gibbon
John H. Gibbon, eldest son of Robert E. Gibbon and Emma Gibbon was born July 3, 1893, at Williams, Iowa. He attended the Williams grade school, graduated from the Williams high school in 1910, and later attended Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls.
At the outbreak of World War 1, he volunteered for service with the army and was assigned to the air force. He reached England as one of the first 100,000 of our troops to cross the Atlantic. During the entire war, he served with the ground section of the Army Air Force, being stationed at various points in the British Isles.
Following the war, he came to Primghar, Iowa, as an employee of the Illinois Central railroad. While stationed in this community he became acquainted with Miss Marie Metcalf, to whom he was married on July 15, 1925. For some three years, the couple made their home here, after which they removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Jack, as he was commonly called, became associated with the Western Fuel and Oil Company. He spent some years with his company, following which Mr. Gibbon and his wife removed to Batesville, Arkansas where he engaged in the business of mining of manganese ore, as the owner and operator of the Arkansas Manganese Company. Under his management the company became one of the largest shippers of manganese during World War II, thus contributing materially to the war effort.
Partly as a result of his strenuous efforts to increase the production of manganese in the Cushman Batesville area, his health broke, and he suffered several attached of coronary thrombosis culminating in a final attack on March 31, 1948, at which time he passed away at Batesville, Ark.
Mr. Gibbon was a member of the Presbyterian church, Masonic Lodge, Eastern Star and of the American Legion. Besides his widow, he is survived by a sister, Mrs. Walter Hurd of Stanhope, Iowa, two brothers, James E. Gibbon of Payette, Idaho and Vance Gibbon of Hudson, Wisconsin.
Following a service at Batesville, final services were held in Primghar, Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Congregational church with Rev. A. Morris Lotte officiating. The pallbearers were James McCreath, Victor Peck, Leo Lampman, J. R. Sloan, V. J. Cassidy and Elmer Mast. He was laid to rest at Pleasant Hill cemetery. John H. Gibbon was a man of ability and of integrity and in his passing his family, friends and associates suffered an irreparable loss.
Those from out of town who attended funeral services for John H. Gibbon Saturday were Mr. and Mrs. S. French and Mrs. Will Brunskill of Hawarden, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Metcalf of Fairmont, Minn., Mrs. Maude McCastern, Mrs. Ashbold Devereau and Mrs. Lloyd Peel of Omaha, Nebr., Mrs. Walter Hurd of Stanhope, Iowa, R. Hurd of Grinnell College, Mr. and Mrs. Vance Gibbon of Hudson, Wisc., and James E. Gibbon of Payette, Idaho.
Transcribed by Alan Nicholson
