Stebbins, Elizabeth M.

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Obituary

KNOX — Elizabeth “Betty” M. Stebbins Gibbs devoted her life to teaching her faith as a missionary, near and far, even when it put her in harm’s way. “She was a very giving person, always trying to help out,” said Philip Gibbs, one of her three children, whom she raised in the Philippines. “She tried to be on top of stuff all the time, and she tried to be a positive influence on people.” She died on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, at the Oaks of Sweeten Creek Nursing Home in Arden, N.C. She was 86. Mrs. Gibbs was born on July 9, 1926, in Saigon, Vietnam, then French Indo China, to missionary parents, Rev. Irving Stebbins and Mrs. Mary Stebbins. In 1932, at age 6, she entered a children’s boarding school in Dalat, Vietnam, where she spent nine months a year separated from her family. “I, myself, went to a boarding school,” her son said. “You learn to be on your own. You kind of grow up on your own. She was very independent growing up. She had a lot of fun in school growing up, too, but she had an independent spirit.” In 1942, when World War II was imminent, the Stebbins were the first missionary family to be returned to the United States because of concern for the safety of their seven children. “Her family was in some tough situations that were very dangerous, and came very close to the point of death,” said her son. “During the Tet Offensive, her sister and her family, in Vietnam, were shot to death by the Viet Cong. Five or six of them were trapped in a pit; the Viet Cong just came and shot them in the pit as they were hiding there. But she committed herself to this type of a lifestyle. She fully believed that God would take care of them in whatever they did.” After arriving in the United States, Mrs. Gibbs went to high school in Nyack, N.Y. until the family moved to El Cerrito, Calif. Her father worked as a translator at the Office of War Information in San Francisco. After graduating from El Cerrito High School in 1945, Mrs. Gibbs worked at an office in the California shipyards before returning to New York State and joining the Nyack Missionary Training Institute, where she met her late husband, Floyd Gibbs, of Knox. “She comes from a long line of missionaries,” their son said. “Growing up overseas, I think it’s one of the first things you think about — doing the same thing your parents did. There came a point in her life where she felt this was what she was supposed to do, so she went to Nyack, and that’s where she met my father.” The couple dated for several years before marrying on June 1, 1948. The Gibbses pastored a church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for two years before heading overseas to begin their missionary work in the Philippines. Their work took them to Jolo, Zamboanga City, and Manila. During their years in Jolo, Mrs. Gibbs translated the Bible’s Book of John into the Tausug language. When they moved to Zamboanga, she ran the Guest Home for Missionaries in Zamboanga City, and later in Manila — “a home where missionaries and guests could stay and be refreshed and encouraged,” her family wrote. “I grew up over there,” her son said. “It was a very tough ministry. They worked among the Muslims in the Philippines, and they had very few convents. The Muslims were very close-minded to any other faith, and it was very unsafe growing up, a lot of battles between the government and the Muslims. We had a lot of hairy experiences. I never saw the bullets, but I heard the bullets from our truck.” He remembers his mother’s talent as a singer, piano player, and cook. “Her specialty was Filipino food,” he said. “One of the things we all liked was lumpia. It’s kind of like an egg roll.” She also made pancit, a noodle dish; Filipino fried rice; and suman, sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaves. After their years in the Philippines, Mrs. Gibbs and her family returned to Knox to care for her in-laws. While living in upstate New York, Mrs. Gibbs ministered with her husband in several area churches, including Pineview Community Church; Westerlo Baptist Church; Altamont Christian Missionary Alliance; and the South Westerlo Congregational Church. The Gibbses retired to Bradenton Missionary Village in 1995, where they lived for 10 years before moving to the Oaks at Sweeten Creek in Arden, N.C., to be closer to their youngest son, Irving, and his family. “No matter what, she was a very upbeat person,” said Philip Gibbs. “Her faith was very strong.”

Mrs. Gibbs is survived by their three children: Esther Gibbs Brisson of Canton, Ga; Philip Gibbs of Ballston Lake; Irving Gibbs of Mills River, N.C.; and their spouses. Also surviving are her brother, Tom; her sister, Anne; nine grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Her grandson, Joshua, died in 1989, when he was 3-and-a-half. Four of her siblings died before her: Harriet, Ruth, Bob, and George. A wake will be held at Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m., with the funeral service to follow, and internment at Knox Cemetery. — Zach Simeone

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