Robert (Bob) Gibson passed away (croaked - his vocabulary) on February 28, 2020 at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was born in Anderson, Indiana on March 25, 1936. He is survived by his wife Sue, sister Johanna, son Norman (Becky), daughter Laura (George), and grandchildren Katerina (Joe), Daniel, and Jessica.Bob had three passions in life, cars, music, and teaching. Some of his favorite cars were his MG TD, Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas, and Borgward Isabella. Bob was born into a family with music in their blood, which for him started with singing with the family around the piano, to playing the baritone, trumpet, and sousaphone in the Bellflower High (CA) marching band and the standup bass in the jazz band. Throughout the years he picked up the guitar, banjo, and ukulele before finding his place singing bass with the Sounds of Aloha Barbershop Chorus.
For Bob, being involved in education was not work, but a way of life. He earned a B.A. from CSU Long Beach in Elementary Education, a M.A. from the UH Manoa in Teaching ESL, and a Ph.D. from the UH Manoa in Linguistics. He started his career by teaching grade 6 in California but decided for a more adventurous life and moved the family to Ngaarad Palau to teach. From there he taught or was involved in education in Saipan, Japan, Korea, Egypt, American Samoa, and ended his career at UH Manoa as an Associate Professor of Linguistics. He had a life full of adventure, amazing colleagues, students, friends, and family.
Bob's family will be having a private celebration while scattering his ashes off Magic Island on May 12. Bob's charity of choice was always the University of Hawai'i if anyone would like to make a donation directly to them.
Arrangements Provided By: Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary
