He was a well-respected, beloved and devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and true friend, who will long be remembered for his warmth, loyalty and strong character. Mark enjoyed life to its fullest-from family gatherings and vacations, to overnights with his grandchildren Jack and Grace, to dinners and trips with friends, playing golf and basketball and attending Chiefs and Mizzou games. His life was cut too short, when just two weeks prior to leaving us, he was officially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to his liver. Mark was a strong man, who met challenges head-on, but he was not given the time to undergo an aggressive treatment plan to beat this deadly disease.
Mark was the oldest child born to Charles A. and Ada Lee Gibbs in Mexico, Missouri on September 17, 1954, and later, moved with his family to Kansas City in 1963. In 1973, he graduated from Truman High School in Independence, Missouri, where he played Varsity football and basketball. Mark attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. It was there, that he developed the strong life-long friendships that he so enjoyed right up until he passed away. One of his proudest accomplishments was serving as the fraternity’s Rush Chairman. He loved this role, that of working to strengthen Zeta Phi, a brotherhood that had given him the leadership skills he would benefit from throughout his life. Mark enjoyed participating in intramural sports and Greek Sing, attending Beta social events and of course, supporting Mizzou athletics. He graduated from the Business School in 1977 with a BS in Marketing.
Upon graduation, Mark accepted a position with Yellow Freight System, Inc. in Kansas City. Throughout his career at Yellow, he held several positions until becoming the Manager of Real Estate, leading the department for many years. In 1997, Mark joined Burr & Temkin, a national real estate brokerage firm specializing in transportation facilities. As a Principal of the company, he focused on the Southwest region of the United States and recently served as CFO. Over the course of his career, he was active in industry and community organizations. He held the positions of Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary for the Terminal Properties Exchange; Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary for Community America Credit Union’s Board of Directors; Board Member for Community America Credit Union’s CUSO and a member of the Marketing Advisory Board of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Marketing Department.
In 1978, Mark married Patricia A. Hollocher whom he met while at Mizzou. Mark and Pat were blessed with 42 wonderful years together. She survives, along with their “best accomplishments,” two sons; Matthew (Kate), their children (Papa’s pride and joy) Jack and Grace; son, Andrew; mother, Ada Lee Gibbs; brother, Jeff Gibbs (Kristi); niece Kate Gibbs; nephew Lee Gibbs; brother-in-law, Mark Hollocher; niece, Kelley Schaub; sister-in-law, Karen Melton (Edward); nephew, Ed Melton; nieces, Cindy Yearout, Laurie Ahlers and Kristi Hickam; aunt, Sue Barnes and cousins, Teresa Barnes and Debbie Harper. Mark also leaves behind so many wonderful friends, who were like family to him. Preceding Mark in death were his father, Charles A. Gibbs and his grandparents, Francis and Erma Beatty and Loran and Gladys Gibbs.
Mark’s family would like to thank the many doctors and nurses in Oncology, Emergency and ICU at the University of Kansas Medical Center, who tried with their expertise and compassionate care, to do all they could, to save his life.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, funeral services will be restricted to immediate family only. A “Celebration of Mark’s Life” will be planned for a future date.
The family requests no flowers. If you would like to honor Mark’s memory, please consider a contribution to one of the following: One of the many bright spots in Mark’s life was his affiliation with the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the University of Missouri. A memorial scholarship has been created in Mark’s memory. Donations may be sent to the “Mark A. Gibbs Memorial Scholarship”, c/o The Zeta Phi Society Foundation, Inc., 39 Berkshire Drive, Richmond Heights, MO 63117. Online contributions can be made via Venmo @ZetaPhiSocietyFoundation. Please indicate that donations are for the Mark A. Gibbs Memorial Scholarship. -OR- KU Endowment, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Mail Stop 3012, Kansas City, KS 66160, to benefit Pancreatic Cancer Research. Online contributions may be made at www.kuendowment.org/give. (Please indicate that donations are for the Mark A. Gibbs Memorial)
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