It was with deep regret & sorrow that I learned of death Harold Phillips Gibbs, the beloved husband of Irene Worley Gibbs.  I share deeply your sorrow & want you to know we have thought & prayed for you and your family often these past few days. It is our prayer that you shall have peace & comfort from the Lord & under the weight of your burden find strength & security in His everlasting arms.  
Harold & I entered Johnson Bible College in 1946 & graduated in 1950. He was always a man of great faith, a wonderful friend, and was a genuine gospel preacher.  I have no doubt as to Harold's faith & relationship with the Lord, so you don't need to worry about his final destination! He is "absent from the body but present with the Lord." May the Lord bless & sustain you today and all the way, Norman R. Able, 20 Bailliere Dr. Martinsville, IN.

Sorry for your loss, the short time I knew him I found he was a very caring and compassionate man. I know he was loved by many and is sorely missed. He was always nice to me. May God bless his family during this time. 

God give me the blessing of learn under Irene and Harold not only the Bible but the testimony of dedicate Christian to inspírate my life my family and ministry 
Brother Felipe was my teacher and whit him I invested the most longer time because I was his helper in the printer area and we have always time to share many interesting subjects to build up my spiritual life and understanding of the Bible 
I have also the blessing to como to Christ under the ministry of Delbert and Alice Wilson Very dear friends of Harold 
I meet the Ibarra family in the Tunal leading a Church one of the disciples of Harold and Irene
We are sure soon we go to see Felipe in the House of Christ 
Pace of God 

On a Christmas morning long ago, I sat down at Grandpa’s kitchen table to write my thank you notes for all the wonderful gifts I had just opened. Grandpa was flabbergasted! How could I start writing my thank you notes so quickly? Right then and there he took it upon himself to give me “procrastination lessons”.  I then tried to give him lessons on how to NOT procrastinate and thus started our hilarious and happy exchange for the next 12+ years.
Naturally, when I heard of his passing I thought I immediately should post something poignant and wise about him. But then I thought,  ‘what would grandpa do?’ And so I sat back and had coffee, laughed, watched the birds out my window, ate a big meal and an even bigger dessert and spent time with my family. And his lessons finally hit home. It IS good to procrastinate. Because what’s important is to slow down and appreciate all the things and people around you—and most importantly- to spend a little extra of the time that we have with the people that we love. Grandpa was a pro at enjoying life and spreading love. I hope I can continue to pass on his wisdom and his unconditional love.  

Harold & Irene were in the same Sunday School class we were in when we first joined Community Christian Church. I appreciated his wisdom & how he didn’t let the teacher get away with anything if he thought it wasn’t quite right 😉. His knowledge of the Scriptures  was incredible. 

He served God faithfully.  He had a great smile. Thank you Harold for setting a great example of what a Christian gentleman should look like. 

I look forward to seeing you in Heaven!

Thankful to God for the life and teaching ministry at Colegio Biblico, for so many years. Many of us were blessed by his faithful teaching. Brother Harold (Felipe, as many knew him) was a very patient and loving man, always exhibiting a godly character. Hugs and best regards to Irene his faithful wife, partnering wiht him in so many ways. Blessings to the family. 

I was born and raised in eagle pass. My mom RIP, was given a chance by the Gibbs. Who are great people. Growing up, I loved hearing all the stories he would tell. And how he treated his family. He's a great role model, and he lived a life the way it should be lived.

We will miss you

 I knew Harold through Community Christian Church. His life is an inspiration to us all. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  Harold gave to all of us an example by which to live. It was an honor to have known Harold and he will be greatly missed.  My condolences to his many friends and family members.

Grandpa, I just wanted to add that I have so many wonderful memories of you. I also wanted to say it was noticed how much you loved your grandchildren and great grandchildren. I appreciate the love you showed me and my children.  I have memories of you holding each of my children when they were little and playing around with them. I will always cherish the memories made with you camping at Garner State Park almost every summer. I remember your beautiful singing voice. I can hear you now as I think about you, Grandpa I don't ever want to forget your voice. Your witty sense of humor will be missed. I was telling some of the family that it makes sense that you went to heaven on April 1st. If you were to pick a day to go to heaven I believe you would have picked April fools day because you were funny like that! I appreciate how after I had Caedden and I had an emergency you and Grandma stepped into help take care of him. I love how you and Caedden had your own special joke. He always referred to you as Great Grandma and you would correct him and you all would go back and forth. Silly I know, but special to you two. And special to me because you went along with my little boys silliness.  One of the last times we saw you, you even lit up and said to Caedden you always call me Great Grandma! You remembered. I will miss your hugs and your beautiful smile. There are so many more memories I will cherish. Until heaven know I love you, I will miss you and I will look forward to seeing you again. And again thank you Grandpa for giving to the Lord...

Gerardo y Alicia Moyeda
Eagle Pass Tx 

Un fuerte abrazo  hnos. Estan en nuestras oraciones.

Harold was an honorable and Godly man and I am blessed that I was able to learn from his examples for daily living.   His gentleness and kindness was extended to everyone. The heavenly choir has added a beautiful voice to the choir.
Janie Veach

My husband & I knew Harold from Community Christian Church for approx. the past 15 or 16 years.  There is so much I could say about him.  First, he was a man of God, a believer who inspired us to be better.  Next, he was a family man who loved his wife, Irene, and all of his family members!  And, that took a lot of loving!  Next, he loved his brothers & sisters in Christ.  In addition, he was caring, kind and had a wonderful sense of humor.  I have wonderful memories, but at the top of the list is the opportunity to celebrate & honor him for his 90th birthday at church.  We also celebrated Irene's at the same time.  Especially in light of current covid-19 restrictions, I treasure that time that we had to all be together and honor him & Irene.  I'm attaching a photo (not from their party) from my husband's birthday party in September 2019.  Makes me smile to think of him like that! 

As a young girl, I always enjoyed hearing the laughter and stories told by the Gibbs grownups! They had a very memorable childhood in Carnegie. After a wonderful reunion in 2018 of the Gibbs’ and Phillips’ families,  many of us drove  to the Gibbs’ home place on 7 Watson St in Carnegie. I was thrilled to hear Uncle Herald retell this story.  Uncle Herald pointed toward the back yard of his family home and began saying; when he and his two brothers got in trouble, their dad would tie them to the clothes line poles and the cherry tree nearby. They each had their spot and knew which place to go to when they knew they were going to be tied. What their dad, my Grandpa, didn’t know was their naughtiness  continued even when being disciplined, because they always kept a hidden rock stash at each place! You can figure out what they were for! We asked if his Dad knew what was going on? After some time, he told us, their little sister, Jane, my mom, told on them! He was laughing all through telling the story! 
My Uncle Herald was a great man of God!  He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. My mom had three terrific brothers and I am so proud that I am part of this amazing family!
Leslie Chapman 
Sent from my iPhone



As a young girl, I always enjoyed hearing the laughter and stories told by the Gibbs grownups! They had a very memorable childhood in Carnegie. After a wonderful reunion in 2018 of the Gibbs’ and Phillips’ families,  many of us drove  to the Gibbs’ home place on 7 Watson St in Carnegie. I was thrilled to hear Uncle Herald retell this story.  Uncle Herald pointed toward the back yard of his family home and began saying; when he and his two brothers got in trouble, their dad would tie them to the clothes line poles and the cherry tree nearby. They each had their spot and knew which place to go to when they knew they were going to be tied. What their dad, my Grandpa, didn’t know was their naughtiness  continued even when being disciplined, because they always kept a hidden rock stash at each place! You can figure out what they were for! We asked if his Dad knew what was going on? After some time, he told us, their little sister, Jane, my mom, told on them! He was laughing all through telling the story! 
My Uncle Herald was a great man of God!  He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. My mom had three terrific brothers and I am so proud that I am part of this amazing family!


  On April 1, 2020 my amazing Grandpa went to be with Jesus. He was such an example of love and of Christ. He used to be a missionary to Mexico and a pastor at a Spanish speaking church down in Eagle Pass, TX.  I imagine there were many people greeting him in heaven, many of those whose lives he touched and changed. Grandpa you were the best and I love you so much! Thank you for the example you set. Life will not be the same without you, but I know I will see you again! For all those that knew my Grandpa, listen to the song "Thank You For Giving To The Lord", this song is so for him. 

Grandma and Grandpa have a cloth activity book that my girls used to play with every time we came over to visit. Vivienne would always bring the book over to Grandpa and have him do all the activities with her. He was always so patient with her, teaching her how to button or zip or braid. His love of his family was always present and will always be felt by all of us lucky enough to call him family. I love you so much Grandpa and will miss you! I can't wait to see you again!

Grandpa, you have taught us all so much.  Your love for Grandma was unconditional.  Your love for family was a priority and that was instilled in our parents, then to us and now its on us to share that with our kids.  You were a great Husband, Father, Grandpa and Great Grandpa and thank you for all the memories you made with us.   We love you and will always have you in our hearts.  

Love Your Grandson,
Chris



You never missed a beat with your Groom and Clean your hair was always slick and smooth.   I think I tried to use Groom and Clean once, but that didn't work out so well.   

You and Grandma finally retired from Colegio Biblico and moved to Austin.  Us grandkids were much older now and into our early adult life.  I have many memories of us going out and enjoying the occasional round of golf.  You always insisted on walking!  I look back now and can't believe we would walk the entire course, what were we thinking doing this in the heat of Texas.  My golf only improved slightly since we were kids learning to swing a club in the backyard in Eagle Pass but it was still fun getting out when we could to play a round.  

You and Grandma opened your doors again while in Austin for me and Marianna to live with you.  Marianna got to see that love you have for family and I know you both shared a bond together as she grew up.  

You married me and Elly which we will cherish for the rest of our lives.  I can't tell you how many people almost had a heart attack as you held our wedding rings over that outdoor deck next to the stream and everyone praying that you wouldn't drop the rings.  You and Elly had a special bond as well as you tried your hardest to teach Elly an extremely important life lesson.  The life lesson was how to procrastinate.  Elly was really lacking in the department of procrastination and you made it your mission over the past 10 years to teach her.   Our boys, Jace and Kip, had the privilege of getting to know their great grandpa.  They will remember the traditions of the Gibbs Gobble Wobble and the ringing of the cowbell when it was time to eat.  


It took hours to finish but you were out there sweating up a storm wearing your tan hat.  Some Saturdays we spent irrigating the entire land, which were fun days.  Harold and I would use some of my dad firefighter boots to go up and down the ditches “helping” to irrigate.  I remember you helping my dad plant over 100 pecan tree’s down at the land.  In early springtime, it was time to prep the garden.  You and my dad would get the tiller out and spend the entire day prepping the soil.  You helped teach us about working hard and then enjoying the hard work when we were done.  After mowing the lawn and the sun went down, we would go out and hit some golf balls.  Attempting to hit golf balls in the backyard in Eagle Pass is where I was first introduced to actually playing the sport.  I am still not any good, but we will get to more of that later in this letter. 

Growing up we almost always went to Garner State Park for our yearly trip with all the Uncles, Aunts and cousins.  I think we all have so many memories at Garner State Park but one I will never forget happened when we were all down at the river swimming.  One side of the river was lined with trees and every so often you would find a good rope that kids would use to swing and jump into the river.  Well I don't know what got into you that day, maybe it was a dare from Grandma or you wanted to show off for Grandma but you swam across the river to the other side and got in line with us kids to “show us” how it was done.  When your turn came you actually lined up and swung off that rope like a pro.  You and Grandma gathered us all as a family every year knowing that we would be creating memories to last a lifetime and show how important time with family was.  

As I got older I got to hear and appreciate your sense of humor and boy did you have a sense of humor :)  I also realized you always had style.  

Cabrera had a hit that drove in David Justice for the tie and all Barry Bonds had to do was throw out Sid Bream, but the throw was off and Atlanta beat the Pirates and advanced.  Grandpa and I stood there stunned.  We anguished over that loss and talked about the throw that Bonds missed for years (as did all other Pirate fans).  We of course never lived down that throw from Chad, as the Braves were his team.  Chad took it easy on Grandpa but never let me forget it.   Baseball was something we watched when we could.  Many times, it was even in Spanish which was always entertaining to hear the calls from the announcers.  When the strike came in 94 and 95 it pushed us away from baseball for a while and shortly after I moved away to Austin for college.  

I had the privilege of getting to spend more time with you growing up in Eagle Pass. There are so many memories.  Sunday dinners after church. Now these were some dinners (lunches) we would have prepared by grandma and mom.  One thing you always had was your bread and butter for our Sunday dinners.  I don’t ever recall a meal without the bread and butter.  You always cleared your plate :) not only as a kid but something you did your entire life.  I was always amazed at how you could throw down some food.  We can't stop there as the main course was dessert.  You taught us kids the right way to eat ice cream.  We would use these gigantic cereal bowls to scoop at least 4 scoops of ice cream.   Topping or not toppings it didn't matter.  The bonus came when we had some pie or dump cake to go with it.  You loved your ice cream and I think that is something your kids and all grandkids inherited :) 

You were a very hard worker not only at Colegio Biblico but also back at the land.  I remember our Saturday mornings usually being awoken by the sound of the lawn mower.  We had a number of push mowers that you, my dad, my brother and I would share. 

Dear Grandpa,

First, we all miss you but what you have left us with is so much more than words can express.  We all have been blessed to have you in our lives and our kids lives for all these years.  I of course only got to take advantage of the past 42 year but who’s counting.   As I began to think about writing you this letter, memory after memory began filling my mind and I just started jotting down short sentences of the memory which quickly filled a page.  I did not get to finish my letter before I read you what I had and ad libbed the remainder, but I promised you I would finish this letter.  There's no better place to begin for me than in my days as a kid. 

I remember being a kid and being able to roam the campus of Colegio Biblico.  Even now I remember how much the students looked up to you. I never got to see you in action, but I know you had a tremendous impact on many students that graduated from Colegio Biblico.  I do remember being able to go visit you in your dual office with grandma.  It was right next to the bookstore in the main building (before Colegio Biblico expanded). I would love stopping by to use your typewriter.  I never typed anything good for use but would sit there and type up random thoughts.  No matter how busy you might have been you would always allow me to come in and bug you in your office.  

Growing up we watched several sports.  We watched the Steelers whenever we were lucky to get the broadcast in Eagle Pass, which was rare I do have to say.  Most broadcasts of football were of the Cowboys.   We watched golf on Sunday’s which usually resulted in nap time and we also watched Pirates baseball.  One memory I will never forget was watching the Pirates baseball game and Barry bonds blowing that throw from left field.  It was an epic game 7 National East division title against none other than the Atlanta Braves, yes Chad, your team.  Bottom of the 9th with Atlanta at bat with the Pirates up 2-1.  

Alabamos a Dios por la vida de nuestro Hno. Harold Gibbs, quien fue nuestro maestro en el Colegio Bíblico. Admiramos de el su carácter y nos llena de alegría el haberlo visto casi hasta el final de su vida terrenal . Que Dios fortalezca a su compañera de vida hna. Irene y nuestras condolencias a toda su familia. -Tony y Velia Chavez

Un saludo y mis oraciones para ustedes. -Sylvia Moreno

Dios lo uso para ser de bendición a muchos obreros y le dio larga vida y le dará su premio. Un saludo especial para la Hna. Irene y toda su familia -Feliciano Moreno


This picture is typical of how I remember Uncle Harold, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. I would take Aunt Anna to the Carnegie Church whenever he was  in town to preach and report on the ministry at Eagle Pass. He will be missed. 

I’ll never forget when, years ago, grandpa tried to recite one of our church camp songs during a speech he was giving to a big crowd. Before his speech, he went over the words with us grandkids to make sure he was going to say the right thing. It’s “you dig a hole, and you put the devil in” grandpa, we told him. He got up and started his speech, and of course he botched the lyrics! “You gotta dig a hole, you gotta dig a hole, you gotta put the devil in it!”

The way he said it made all of us grandkids laugh so much. We still talk about this moment to this day. 

Grandpa was such a funny and intelligent man, and I’m so thankfully I know the love of Jesus because of him and grandma. 

Grandpa taught me what it means to have integrity. His motto could have been “always do the right thing, no matter what.” His humor will forever live on in his children and their children, and on and on down the line (as will his sarcasm)(oh yeah, and his stubbornness). I consider myself extremely lucky that I got to know this man for 37 years! I will fondly remember golfing and camping with him. One of my favorite memories is when he be-friended John Candy at Garner State Park, or maybe it was his doppelgänger. He was a friend to anyone who met him, and a great man of endless joy and integrity. I will surely miss you, Grandpa!

A great man left this world on Wednesday morning and will be greatly missed.

Grandpa, thank you for all the memories of camping, breakfast tacos, and marrying Mike and I! Your compassion and ability to love everyone made you stand out as one of the greatest men I know. You instilled all those great things in my dad. This is not goodbye....just see you later! ❤

Way too many memories to put in this short space, but I will most certainly miss my Uncle!  Family vacations at different family homes.  A big group of us attending a Pirates game -- in the highest seats available.  Trips to Mexico.  San Antonio World's Fair.  Laughing until our sides hurt with all the Gibbs siblings during Glen Burnie VBS weeks.  Even a few very serious conversations in my teen years about Faith and Christ.  Always easy going, and great sense of humor.    So glad for the 2018 reunion in Pennsylvania and the time spent with Uncle Harold and everyone.

Johnson University 

Harold is survived by his wife of almost 72 years, Irene Worley Gibbs, his five children, Steve (wife Shirley), Richard (wife Anna), Gary (wife Theresa), Vickie (husband Gabriel Segura) and Randy. He is also survived by Joe and Alice Gibbs, his brother and sister-in-law of Annapolis, Maryland. Harold has 22 grandchildren and 34 great grandchildren.


Harold was preceded in death by his father and mother, James and Jean Gibbs, his brother and sister-in-law, Jimmy &amp; Eva Gibbs, his sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Bill Coffman, his daughter and son-in-law, Raquel and Johnny Reyes.

OBITUARY

Harold Phillips Gibbs

25 October, 1927 – 1 April, 2020

Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home & Cemetery

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