Louis Gibbs Jr.

Louis Albert Gibbs Jr., 91, passed away on November 2, 2019 in Frederick Maryland.  Born on August 28, 1928 in Bronxville, NY to the late Louis Albert and Arline (Schneer) Gibbs.  He was raised in Larchmont, NY and spent most summers in Westport, NY; first as a camper at Camp Dudley and then as a summer resident.   His nickname was Red, for his bright red hair, a nickname that would follow him through high school and college.  He was a graduate of the Admiral Farragut Academy, starting at the Pine Beach, NJ campus and graduating from the St. Petersburg, FL campus.  He studied metallurgical engineering at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla, Missouri and after graduation married the love of his life, the late Carol Mae Dingee, on July 28, 1951 at the Presbyterian Church in New Rochelle, NY.

Lou was a professional engineer.  He had several engineering jobs as a young engineer including working as a mining engineer, working for NYS OGS on projects at Bedford Hill Correctional Facility among other locations, and engineering work for the construction of the Savanna River Site, nuclear reservation outside of Augusta, GA.   He spent 25 years of his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC retiring as a Senior Vice President in 1984.   He oversaw the global construction and real estate group at One Chase Manhattan Plaza which included everything from construction, facilities management, to leasing agreements.  He had so many great stories from his time at Chase like the garbage strikes of NYC, the group of four trees, working for David Rockefeller, and many, many more.

Lou and Carol spent 67 wonderful joy filled years married before her passing on January 24, 2019.  They made a beautiful life together spending most of their married life living in Rye, NY and Greenwich, CT when he was working at Chase and Fort Lauderdale when retired.  They spent most summer months at their cabin on Lake Champlain in Westport, NY.  Property that was gifted to them as a wedding present and later, in 1985, at their apple orchard, Bessboro Orchards, which was their passion after Lou’s retirement.

They were well traveled and enjoyed learning about new cultures and seeing historical sights together.  Lou was a very intelligent, quiet, pensive man.  He didn’t like chit chat, only conversations that had substance.  He was of tall stature and strong with clear blue eyes and a friendly smile.  He was a hard worker.  He would never hire someone for work that he could do himself.   He and Carol ran the orchard well into their 70s and did most of the work themselves.  When you heard his calm voice, you could hear that he was a New Yorker with a strong will and a can-do attitude.   He was personable but would rather be reading a book on the beach or by the lake than socialize.  He was an avid tennis player and golfer in his day and enjoyed many hours on the tennis courts at the Lago Mar beach club and Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in Fort Lauderdale and on the golf course at the Westport Country Club.  His days were spent enjoying walks on the beach and sitting by the pool reading books with Carol by his side in Fort Lauderdale and enjoying the fresh air and his apple orchard in the summer and fall months in Westport.  He and Carol were huge readers and would visit the Westport Library in the summer and the Fort Lauderdale public library in the winter several times a month.  He was a fair man.  Always trying to make sense of things and looking at the big picture.  His engineering mind was always going right up to the end.  He loved sitting around a nice wood fire at the lake, smoking a cigar and having a nice glass of single malt scotch.  If there was a wood burning fireplace, he wanted to be sitting right next to it.  He will be dearly missed by so many, but he is now with his love, Carol, where he always wanted to be.

Surviving family members include his children Elizabeth Fredrickson and her husband James of Sharon, NH, Peter Gibbs of Shelburne, VT; Grandchildren Rebecca Anne Dixon and her husband Rick Stevenson of Frederick, MD and Sanford, ME, Virginia Dixon Fennell of Peterborough, NH, Kathleen Fredrickson of Woburn, MA, Elizabeth Fredrickson Costa of Framingham, MA, Thomas Gibbs of Pompano Beach, FL, Louise Gibbs of Burlington, VT; great grandchildren Jack Fennell, Jasper Fennell, and Varik Costa.  He is also survived by his sister Mary Gibbs Farrell of Malta, NY and close cousin Jacqueline Schneer Ross of Brewster, NY and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

In addition to his parents and his wife, Lou was predeceased by his brother Ray Gibbs, his brother-in-law Robert Farrell, his daughter-in-law Lauren Gibbs, his nephew Roy Gibbs, his niece Mary Mead Gibbs, his niece Carol Whiney Thomason and his sister-in-law Jean Dingee Harold.

Services will be held at the Westport Federated Church in Westport, NY on December 29, 2019 at 2:00 pm.  A reception will follow at the Westport Hotel.  All are encouraged to attend and celebrate Lou’s life.  Interment will be at the Gibbs family plot at the Hillside Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westport Library Association, 6 Harris Lane, Westport, NY 12993.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.Staufferfuneralhome.com