Obituary of Thomas J Gibbons Sr.

Thomas J. Gibbons, Sr.,92,  passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 8, 2020 following a short illness. Tom was born May 6, 1928 in East Homer, NY, and raised on Tully Farms, where his father was the foreman. He attended a one room schoolhouse through sixth grade. Tom graduated Tully Central High school in 1946, where he was president of the student council. In 1945 he moved to Syracuse and started to work at Easy Washer where he met his lovely wife of 59 years, Ann R. Kilpatrick. They married on Tipperary Hill, moved to Manlius, and raised their family in Liverpool, NY.

Tom worked as an electrician at General Electric, then worked at Syracuse Stamping Company for 24 years, 22 as plant superintendent. Tom retired in 1988, then worked for Onondaga County Parks as a groundskeeper and as caretaker for the White estate in Fayetteville. Finally, he worked at St John the Evangelist Church for 19 years until they closed, taking care of the building from the basement to the roof.

Tom went to night school to study electricity, tool making and auto mechanics. He was the hardest worker, always ready to lend a hand to a friend in need. You name it, he did it!

Tom is survived by his four children: Jean Tecler, Tom (Janet) Gibbons Jr., Pat (Eileen) Gibbons, Sheila (Wayne) Willey; ten grandchildren: Michael, Jeremy, Jeannine, Colleen, Tracy, Meghan, Emily, Gregory, Hannah, and Bridget; and thirteen great-grandchildren. Tom also is survived by many caring nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his dear wife and two beloved sisters, Helene Grace and Laura Atkinson.

Gardening was his favorite hobby, and on any given day he could be found puttering around in his yard, in his tool sheds, or his basement.
In recent years, his favorite activity was weekly brunches with his friends from church and his old neighborhood.

Special Thanks to the Caring Staff at Loretto for their comfort and kindness

Donations, in lieu of flowers, to the Samaritan Center 215 North State Street Syracuse NY 13203 or ONLINE www.samcenter.org and St. John the Baptist Church 406 Court Street Syracuse NY 13208.

A celebration of Tom's life will be held at a later date