R.J. "Jerry" Gibson (STH '54)
R.J
. “Jerry” Gibson (STH ’54) of Eastham died February 9, 2015 after a long illness. Jerry leaves his wife, Mary Jane; four children and their spouses — Rachel and her husband Peter Schwartz of West Hartford, CT; Nathan and Ellen Panarese Gibson of Newton, MA; Mark and Amy Beechner Gibson of Eastham, MA; and Becky and Michael Steiner of Slingerlands, NY; and six grandchildren — Corey, JoJo, Daniel, Annie, Connor and Tyler. Jerry was born in South Bend, IN, and attended Harvard College, B.U. School of Theology, The University of Edinburgh as a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University. For the first years of his professional life he worked for the Methodist Church with students from every college in the Cambridge area. He later became the Director of Fiscal Services at Harvard University, followed by an entrepreneurial period. He was known for his extraordinary work ethic. His gift for inventive play with small children made him a terrific Dad and an adored grandfather. When his oldest grandson applied to college he wrote that his grandfather’s original games “made me think.” Jerry loved Eastham and especially caring for the family’s cottage colony on Depot Pond. He was past president of the Eastham Forum, designed the Transfer Station along with Bob Chesney, raised money for the library’s CLAMS computer system, built shelves for the library, raised money with Nan Aikenson for the bandstand on the green and once, along with Lorimer Miller, organized a fund for citizens who couldn’t afford local taxes.