James Gibbons

James Gibbons

AGE: 76 • Whiting

James Gibbons, 76, of Whiting, died Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, at Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood. James was born at the Long Branch Hospital to James R. and Charlotte Marie (Lucom) Gibbons. As a child, he resided in Red Bank. He raised his family in Fair Haven for many years before moving back to Red Bank and ultimately retiring to Whiting. He honorably served our country in the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1960.

James had a passion for outdoors and was an accomplished fisherman, hunter and fur trapper. He spent every summer since the late 1960's vacationing with his family in the Rangeley Lakes Region of Maine fly fishing for salmon and trout. He spent his later years at Grant's Kennebago Camps in the mountains of North Western Maine.

He was a member of the Saco River Salmon Club, the Sea Bright Rod & Gun Club (hunting in Warren Grove, with his sons), the Monmouth Beach Cartoppers, The Mosquito Fleet & the American Littoral Society (tagging striped bass to chart migratory patterns and determine the health of the fishery). James retired as manager of Blaisdell Lumber Co. in Red Bank. He also managed Marine Lumber Company in Sea Bright for many years.

He is predeceased by his parents and by his sister, Regina Killen. James is survived by his children, James J. Gibbons and wife Christine and Christopher A. Gibbons both of Red Bank, Mary Ellen Ferrara and husband Richard of Millstone Township, and Heather N. Gibbons-Doig of Atlanta, GA; sister, Anne G. Smith of Apopka, FL; and grandchildren, Ian, Megan and Lauren Ferrara, James, Morgan and Alyssa Gibbons and Sophia, Olivia and William Doig.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. & 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22 at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 23 at St. James R.C. Church, 94 Broad St., Red Bank. Interment will follow at 1 p.m. at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Rd., Wrightstown. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations in James' memory to Deborah Heart & Lung Hospital Foundation, PO Box 820, Browns Mills, NJ 08015. Please visit James' memorial website available at www.johnedayfuneralhome.com.