Grady Whitfield Gibbons

Grady was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 28, 1940, to Henry Grady and Carolyn Klaus Gibbons. He graduated from Ensley High School in 1958. He attended the University of Alabama before enlisting in the Air Force in 1961. He proudly served his country during the Cold War while stationed in France. He was honorably discharged in 1962.

In 1961, shortly before joining the Air Force, Grady married his high school sweetheart, Mary Anne Bates. After the military, he continued his education at Howard College in Birmingham and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964. He began his career at Blach’s Department Store in downtown Birmingham. He later worked for Alabama Gas Company until his retirement. During his years at Alagasco, he was an active volunteer with Junior Achievement and the Birmingham Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Ensley in Birmingham.

Grady served as an ordained deacon at Southside Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Birmingham and as an elder at Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church. In 1963, he was asked to teach Sunday School to a rowdy group of 14-year-old boys who had driven away previous teachers. That assignment began more than 60 years of Sunday School teaching to all ages. A gifted Bible teacher, Grady was dearly loved by all who attended his classes. In 2024, the Rehoboth Sunday School Class at Mountain Brook Baptist Church honored him for 20 years of Bible teaching and leadership in its class.

Grady loved spending quality time with his family at their farm in Vincent, Alabama. He and Anne also enjoyed over 60 years of laughs and good times with their supper club, the "Sagacious Sippers." Grady was an avid Alabama football fan, and his last complete sentence was “What time is the Alabama game?”

In 1980, after his first heart surgery, Grady was given 6 months to live. However, he was a fighter and continued to fight through numerous heart surgeries and procedures with a positive attitude until the very end. He will be remembered for his caring spirit and generous, kind heart. He was a man of deep faith who loved God, his family, his church, and his country. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Grady was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 64 years, Anne. Survivors include his daughter Melissa Gibbons Whetstone (Gregory Todd), grandsons Morgan Robins Whetstone (Chapin Smith), Wesley Whitfield Whetstone (Anna Grace O’Neal), and Bates Everitt Whetstone, great-granddaughter Anne Douglas Whetstone, great-grandson Samuel Knight Whetstone; son Farling Whitfield Gibbons, granddaughter Bailey Gibbons Garrett (Michael Chase), great-grandsons Michael Grady Garrett and Caleb Glenn Garrett; and sister Eleanor Kennedy Schiffman.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 1:00 pm in Hudson Hall at Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham followed by a celebration of life at 2:00 pm in the Sanctury. A graveside committal will follow at Elmwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rehoboth Sunday School Class Fund at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, 3631 Montevallo Road, Birmingham, AL, 35213.