Obituary of June Patricia Gibbens

June Patricia (Henry) Gibbens, age 89 of Millcreek Township, passed away peacefully At Sarah Reed Senior Living on Wednesday, October 17, 2018.  Born on August 17, 1929 in McKeesport, PA she was the daughter of the late Mildred and William Henry.

June was raised by her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Robinson, due to the passing of her mother when she was very young. She graduated from McKeesport High School and went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh, studying Chemistry.  June also worked at G. C. Murphy’s as a young lady and enjoyed going roller skating and dancing at Kennywood.  June later moved to Erie and worked at the Hammermill Paper Co. in the purchasing department.  She attended Central Baptist Church and sang in the choir. It was there that she would meet her future husband, Edward Gibbens whom she married on June 23, 1951.

June dearly loved her family and enjoyed attending activities her children and grandchildren were in. She was usually car-pooling, serving as school room mother, helping with McDowell Band Aids, and the Dorchester Drive Baptist Church Women’s Missionary Group.  Once all of her children were in school, she worked part time at Grants Dept. Store in the bookkeeping department for a time.

June especially loved the holidays and birthdays.  She took pride in baking, cooking and decorating for her family.  She enjoyed sharing stories of the good ole days and sharing her recipes too! She loved music and musicals and would sing along to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and others. She read every word of the daily newspaper and would love to share all of the details with her family each visit.  Since June was born and raised near Pittsburgh, she was a huge Steelers and Pirates fan.  She knew many of the stats; especially about her favorite, Big Ben. 

June was married for 66 years to Edward Gibbens who preceded her in death on Sept 6, 2017. Survived by three sons, Jeffrey L. Gibbens (friend Christa Haggerty), Gordon A. Gibbens (wife Melanie) and Paul E. Gibbens (friend Linde Lopez), two daughters, Valerie J. (Gibbens) Clemens (husband Sam) all of Erie, and Amy L. (Gibbens) Stretch (husband Joe) of Auburn Township, Ohio; Grandchildren, Steven, Allison and Michael Gibbens and Jenna and Trevor Stretch;  Brother in laws Ronald Gibbens of Erie, Larry Gibbens (Diane) of Syracuse, NY, Sister in law Sally (Gibbens) Brown of Sharon , PA.  Also preceded in death by aunts, uncles and cousins on her mother’s side.

The family would especially like to thank the excellent staffs of Sarah Reed Senior Living and Great Lakes Hospice for their caring and loving attention they gave Mom during her time of need.

Per her wishes, there will be no calling hours. Private arrangements will be made at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Dorchester Drive Baptist Church, 5002 Dorchester Drive, Erie, PA 16509, with sincere appreciation. Arrangements are under the care of the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home & Crematory Inc. 4216 Sterrettania Rd. Erie, PA 16506