Obituary for Katherine Pauline Gibson
Katherine Pauline Gibson, 96, a summer resident of Southport for 40 years who made Maine her permanent home in 2021, died at her apartment at St. Andrews Village on Sept. 10, 2022. The cause of death was congestive heart failure.
She was “Polly” to a wide circle of friends, and “Nonnie” to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She relished the relationships she made through a variety of interests — her church, her family, her bridge clubs, the Southport Yacht Club and the Southport community in general.
Polly and her late husband, John, bought their Southport cottage in 1982. Enlarged twice, it became the focal point of her Maine life. After her husband died in 2005, Polly continued to live in Wilmington, North Carolina, during the winter and Southport in the summer. She actively supported her church here, All Saints by-the-Sea, and was an early volunteer at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and eventually served on its board of directors. She was a dedicated player of contract bridge, either in person or on line, and accumulated more than enough points to become a Lifetime Master. Earlier in her life, she played a good game of tennis, and with her friend, Barbara Saxton, drove for the Meals on Wheels program on Southport.
Polly was born on March 29, 1926 in Barstow, Maryland, to Elbert and Anna Simmons, the fourth of six children. The family later moved to Port Republic, Maryland, near the western shore of Chesapeake Bay where her mother and father owned a 100-acre tobacco farm. She and her brothers and sisters were children of the Great Depression, never entirely outgrowing a need to economize and save. The family had cows, chickens, and a big vegetable garden. She retained her deep ties to southern Maryland and her large, extended family for the rest of her life.
Polly graduated from Calvert County High School and, in 1947, from the Union Memorial Nursing School in Baltimore. She worked as a public health nurse in Baltimore for two years before marrying John Gibson on June 11, 1949. They moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, and later lived in Chappaqua and Mt. Kisco, New York, before moving upstate in 1972 to Shushan, a small farming community.
Nonnie was an attentive grandmother who with John organized hiking trips in the White Mountains and the Adirondacks, insisted on sailing lessons for her grandchildren on Southport, and took them to museums near and far so they could learn to appreciate good art. Polly also was a devoted aunt to her many nieces and nephews, and particularly to the children of her late sister Louise—Debbie, Jim, Steve and Jill. She was an avid reader, and followed the news carefully even late in her life.
Survivors include a sister, Madeline Blickley of Santa Barbara, California; a daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband Stanley Moss of Princeton, Massachusetts; a son, Scott, and his wife Susan of Portland, Maine; grandchildren Emily Scherer and her husband Michael of Aberdeen, New Jersey, Benjamin and his wife Amanda Huotari of Buckfield, Maine, and Molly and her husband Ben Klein of Durango, Colorado; five great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
The family is grateful to the staff at St. Andrews Village, and to Polly’s principal caregivers who have provided such diligent and compassionate service for the last 15 months, all of Above & Beyond: Amber Rose, Yvonne Ebanks and Linda Grotten.
Plans for a memorial service are to follow.
Hall’s of Boothbay has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences, please visit www.hallfuneralhomes.com
She was “Polly” to a wide circle of friends, and “Nonnie” to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She relished the relationships she made through a variety of interests — her church, her family, her bridge clubs, the Southport Yacht Club and the Southport community in general.
Polly and her late husband, John, bought their Southport cottage in 1982. Enlarged twice, it became the focal point of her Maine life. After her husband died in 2005, Polly continued to live in Wilmington, North Carolina, during the winter and Southport in the summer. She actively supported her church here, All Saints by-the-Sea, and was an early volunteer at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and eventually served on its board of directors. She was a dedicated player of contract bridge, either in person or on line, and accumulated more than enough points to become a Lifetime Master. Earlier in her life, she played a good game of tennis, and with her friend, Barbara Saxton, drove for the Meals on Wheels program on Southport.
Polly was born on March 29, 1926 in Barstow, Maryland, to Elbert and Anna Simmons, the fourth of six children. The family later moved to Port Republic, Maryland, near the western shore of Chesapeake Bay where her mother and father owned a 100-acre tobacco farm. She and her brothers and sisters were children of the Great Depression, never entirely outgrowing a need to economize and save. The family had cows, chickens, and a big vegetable garden. She retained her deep ties to southern Maryland and her large, extended family for the rest of her life.
Polly graduated from Calvert County High School and, in 1947, from the Union Memorial Nursing School in Baltimore. She worked as a public health nurse in Baltimore for two years before marrying John Gibson on June 11, 1949. They moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, and later lived in Chappaqua and Mt. Kisco, New York, before moving upstate in 1972 to Shushan, a small farming community.
Nonnie was an attentive grandmother who with John organized hiking trips in the White Mountains and the Adirondacks, insisted on sailing lessons for her grandchildren on Southport, and took them to museums near and far so they could learn to appreciate good art. Polly also was a devoted aunt to her many nieces and nephews, and particularly to the children of her late sister Louise—Debbie, Jim, Steve and Jill. She was an avid reader, and followed the news carefully even late in her life.
Survivors include a sister, Madeline Blickley of Santa Barbara, California; a daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband Stanley Moss of Princeton, Massachusetts; a son, Scott, and his wife Susan of Portland, Maine; grandchildren Emily Scherer and her husband Michael of Aberdeen, New Jersey, Benjamin and his wife Amanda Huotari of Buckfield, Maine, and Molly and her husband Ben Klein of Durango, Colorado; five great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
The family is grateful to the staff at St. Andrews Village, and to Polly’s principal caregivers who have provided such diligent and compassionate service for the last 15 months, all of Above & Beyond: Amber Rose, Yvonne Ebanks and Linda Grotten.
Plans for a memorial service are to follow.
Hall’s of Boothbay has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences, please visit www.hallfuneralhomes.com