THOMAS MARSHALL GIBSON

HINSDALE - Thomas Marshall Gibson died at home while in hospice care on Sunday, April 14th. He was 97 years old. Tom was born in Chicago and reared in that city. He attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind. and graduated in 1945. He attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and the University of Arizona, and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Before he graduated, he left school to join his father in the family business. That business, Gibson Electric Co., was started in Chicago in 1912 by Tom's grandfather. After his father, Humphrey Gibson Jr., died in 1964, Tom became its president. During his tenure, the business grew to become one of the largest electrical contracting companies in the country, with more than a thousand electricians working for it. Among the projects they worked on were the Harold Washington Library, Rush University Medical Center, Marshall Field's, the Tribune Tower, WGN Studios, the Art Institute and O'Hare Airport. Based in Downers Grove, Gibson Electric is part of the Emcor Group. As a CEO, Tom fostered a business culture that placed high value on employees. Many of them worked there for decades. Among electricians, a job at Gibson Electric was considered a prestige position. A natural leader, Tom served as president and board member of the National Electrical Contractors Association, the Chicago Electric Association, and the Chicago Building Congress. The I.B.E.W. conferred honorary membership to Tom for outstanding service to the industry. He also received the Electric Industry's Man of the Year award, and was inducted into the Electric Industry's Hall of Fame, as was his father before him. Tom was active in the Boy Scouts of America, serving in various executive positions and earning both the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards. He was an avid golfer who joined the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill. in 1958, and was proudly Member #1 of Butler National Golf Club, having been invited by Oak Brook developer Paul Butler. He had an excellent sense of humor and always was ready with an amusing quip. Tom excelled at telling funny stories, often with himself as the butt of the joke. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Cymala (Nitschmann) Gibson, in 2021, after a marriage of 47 years. He is survived by daughter, Linda Gibson, son, Terry Marshall Gibson and daughter, Carol Gibson; as well as his beloved Cavachon dog, Heidi, now 17. He also leaves behind many good friends and admirers. He will be buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, next to his parents Humphrey and Ethel; and his wife, Cymala. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the American Heart Association, or K9s for Warriors. Visitation, Wednesday, April 24th, 10:30 AM until time of Funeral Service, 11:30 AM at Sullivan Funeral Home, 60 South Grant Street, Hinsdale. Private family interment Forest Home Cemetery, Des Plaines, IL. For Information, 630-323-0275 or www.sullivanfuneralhomehinsdale.com.