Edith Gibbons

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1939, Edith was the daughter of the late Curly Fomby and Susie Mae Robinson-Fomby. As a toddler, she moved with her family, led by her grandmother, Otis Robinson, to the Bay Area of San Francisco, California, where she was raised. While in California, Edith met her future husband, Donald Gibbons, who was serving in the U.S. Air Force. The couple later married and relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts, when Donald was transferred to Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee. Eventually settling in New Jersey, Edith and Donald prioritized education while raising their four children. Together, they earned their GEDs, Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master’s degrees through Essex County College and Jersey City State College.

Edith used her degree in education to pursue a fulfilling career in the Newark and Irvington school systems. From the late 1960s until her retirement in 2004, she served as a teacher’s aide, substitute teacher, and elementary school teacher.

A devoted member of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, Edith served as a Deaconess, alongside her husband, a Deacon. Their shared faith guided their lives of service to others. In later years, she became a dedicated member of Pleasant Grove Church in North Carolina, where she enjoyed Wednesday Bible Study and Sunday services.

Edith is survived by her children: Pamela Winston and her husband Robert of North Brunswick, NJ; Ronald Gibbons and his wife Deborah of Westfield, MA; Donna Michelle Beaudoin and her husband Patrick of Raleigh, NC; and daughter-in-law Shelby Hall-Gibbons of Agawam, MA. She also leaves behind her cherished grandchildren: Jonathan (Katrina), Tiran, Tashioddra, Tahmar, Talyah, Krystle (Joseph), Monique (Cameron), and Johnny; great-grandchildren: Mia, Jaxson, Khai, Simone, Julia, Imani, Pablo, Skylar, and Savannah; and her sister Katherine Dixon of Vallejo, CA, along with many loving nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Donald (2011); her son, John (2023); and her sisters, Nodra and Otis Pearl.

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Pleasant Grove Church, 1528 Davis Drive, Cary, North Carolina. Interment will follow at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC. A repass will be held immediately afterward in the Reception Room at Mitchell Funeral Home, 7209 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Edith’s memory to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. www.themmrf.org

The Gibbons family is under the care of Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial

Park. [email protected]

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