Barbara Belle Gibson

Barbara B. Gibson

March 30, 2025

Barbara B. Gibson, 86, of Fargo, North Dakota, passed away peacefully on March 30, 2025. A woman of remarkable warmth and dedication, she touched countless lives through her love of family, education, and community.

Born in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Barbara’s family later relocated to Southern Oregon where her father worked in the logging industry. It was through her work as a dental assistant after high school that she met her beloved husband of over six decades, Duane “Mike” Gibson. Their connection began through Mike’s sister Daisy, a nurse who worked near Barbara’s dental office and what followed was a year of heartfelt correspondence while Mike served in the Air Force. Upon his honorable discharge, they married and began their life journey together.

The couple moved to the Midwest where Mike earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University. Their family grew with the birth of their son Eric in Fargo, followed eighteen months later by daughter Debra after a move to California. When Mike accepted a position with Oregon Chainsaw, the family settled in the Portland, Oregon area where Barbara truly flourished.

As her children approached college age, Barbara embarked on her own educational journey, earning both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in teaching from Portland State University. For the next 25 years, she served as the beloved librarian at Lot Whitcomb Elementary, the same school her children had attended. Her passion for literature led her to host numerous children’s authors at the library, collecting signed books that she later gifted to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In their later years, Barbara and Mike returned to Fargo, settling in at Touchmark at Harwood Groves senior living facility. Barbara’s natural warmth and leadership led to her election to the facility’s Council, where she made it her personal mission to welcome as many new residents as she could. Her kind and loving spirit endeared her to all who met her.

Barbara is survived by her husband, Duane M. Gibson; son Eric Gibson and wife Kathy; daughter Debra Wilkin and husband Brad; grandchildren Michael Gibson (Alyssa), Thomas Gibson, Elizabeth Beck (Michael), Connor Wilkin (Jenna), Lauren Wilkin, and Fletcher Wilkin; great-grandchildren Bode Gibson, Eleanor Beck, and Monroe Gibson; and siblings Clacia Carver, Lawnedia Potter (Willy), and Craig Prewitt (Cindy).

A celebration of life service will be held at Touchmark at Harwood Groves, 1200 Harwood Dr. S., Fargo, ND 58104, on April 28, 2025, at 2:00 pm, with refreshments to follow. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association.