David A. Gibson

BRATTLEBORO - David Alan Gibson of Brattleboro, Secretary of the Vermont Senate, passed away in Charlotte, N.C. on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010, following a short illness. He was surrounded by his children and his companion Nancy Beasley.

Born on Feb. 26, 1936, in Brattleboro, to Ernest W. Gibson, Jr. and Dorothy Switzer Gibson, he graduated from Brattleboro High School and Yale University. In 1962, he received his LL.B. degree from the University of Virginia Law School where he was editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review.

Gibson returned to Brattleboro to join his brother Robert in the Gibson & Gibson law firm and continued to practice law over the next four decades with considerable trial court experience in both federal and state courts. He was elected to serve as State's Attorney for Windham County from 1967 to 1970, and later to serve as a member of the Vermont Senate from 1977 to 1983.

In 2000, he was appointed Secretary of the Vermont Senate. He took pride in following his brother Robert's thirty-plus years in that position until his death in 1999, a position also held by their father before World War II

He was an active member of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries. He also was appointed to many boards and commissions, including the Vermont State Board of Education (1973-77); the New England Board of Higher Education (1979-83); the Criminal Rules Advisory Committee of the Vermont Supreme Court (1970-80); the Board of Trustees of Vermont State Colleges (1982-86); and the Vermont Judicial Conduct Board (1993-99, Chair 1998-99). He also served as a gubernatorial appointee to the national Uniform Law Commission from 1978 to the present and as chair of several of its drafting committees.

Throughout his career David Gibson applied his intellect with integrity, generosity, good humor and unfailing courtesy and attentiveness to all. In addition to his passion for the Senate's work, he had a great love for books, theater, music, baseball and time spent with his family and friends.

He is survived by his four children: Mark Gibson and his wife Nickie of Titusville, Fla.; Michael Gibson and his wife Jean of Bristol; Dorothy Gibson of East Dover and Katharine Gibson of Adamant. He also leaves behind his dear friend, Nancy Beasley of Charlotte, N.C.; his sister, Grace Newcomer of Westport Point, Mass., and his brother, Ernest W. Gibson III and his wife Charlotte of Montpelier. He is survived in addition by seven grandchildren, Zennon and Halle Miller, David A. Bain, and Jennifer, Emily, Kelsey and Kimberly Gibson; cherished nieces and nephews; and Carmen Manas of Inverness, Fla., who joined the family during her high school years.

Due to the anticipated large attendance expected for the service, the funeral has been moved to Saint Michael's Catholic Church, 48 Walnut St. in Brattleboro, on Saturday at 11 a.m. Burial and committal rites will follow in Morningside Cemetery off of South Main Street. Following the interment, the family will receive friends at the Elks Lodge, 75 Putney Road.

Friends are invited to call at the Atamaniuk Funeral Home, 40 Terrace St., on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.

Memorial contributions in David A. Gibson's name may be made to Grace Cottage Hospital, 185 Grafton Road, Townshend, Vermont, 05353; to Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, Virginia, 22116-7058; or to a local hospice.

To sign an online memorial guestbook with your messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Atamaniuk Funeral Home Inc.