John Richard Gibson
John Richard Gibson
BILLINGS - John Richard Gibson passed away on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at Highgate Senior Living Facility after a brief stay in the hospital. John was born to Florence (Lange) Gibson and Ralph Gibson on January 31, 1932 while living up Barkhouse Creek near Yreka, CA.
Since his parents married late in life, he was a beloved only child. He spent his time hunting, fishing and roaming through nature with his dog and his cousins. He learned to play the ukulele around age 12 and never stopped singing and playing again. He graduated from Yreka High School in 1950.
He met Carol Evans while working for the Siskiyou National Forest Service in Happy Camp, CA. He served in the U.S. Army for two years between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He served on the Sixth Army Shooting Squad.
When Carol graduated from college in 1958, they married and set off for Ketchikan, AK where she secured her first teaching job. John worked for the U.S. Forest Service, fighting fires and scaling logs. John and Carol had their first daughter, Jill Gibson Renna, in Ketchikan in 1960.
They returned to the lower 48 so John could enroll at the University of Montana in the Forestry Department. He and Carol would have two more daughters, Shawn and Teal Gibson while living "up the Lolo" near Missoula, MT.
John graduated from the University of Montana in 1963 with a Bachelor's degree in Forestry. He proceeded to have a number of jobs on the Lolo National Forest and lived on the Ranger Stations at Lolo Hot Springs, Nine Mile, and Seeley Lake.
The family moved to the Bigfork Ranger Station on the Flathead National Forest in 1969. Finally, he transferred to Billings to become the Public Relations Officer on the Custer National Forest in 1976. He retired at age 55 but did not stop working. He continued to advocate for public access and conservation issues for the remainder of his life. He worked for the Public Land and Water Access Association, the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Billings Rod and Gun Club and with the Northern Plains Resource Council, to name a few of his favorite organizations.
He taught fly-tying in the schools and was instrumental in helping his wife, Carol win a seat in the MT House of Representatives. John has two grandsons by his daughter, Jill, Frisco and Justice Renna who now live in Portland, OR.
He was married to Carol for 62 years until her passing in 2017. He always had a dog or two. He is survived by his last dog, Tuck who lived with him at Highgate Senior Living in Billings. His daughter, Teal, and her partner, Todd Brown were very supportive of him as he aged. John continued to sing until the end of his life. He will be remembered for his long-lasting friendships, creative sense of humor, high regard for recreation, ability to write and speak in public, compassion for the "under dog" and devotion to the outdoors.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at Smith's West Funeral Chapel.
