David Leon Bibb

David Leon Bibb, age 77, of Woodbridge, Va., passed into his eternal life on Nov. 19, 2025.
He was born in Johnson City, Tenn., on Jan. 20, 1948, as the first child of Herman Leon Bibb and Margaret Cox Bibb. After his father earned his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Missouri, his family settled in Clarksville, Tenn., in 1952, where his father was hired as a professor and chair of the Industrial Arts Department at Austin Peay State University, and his mother was a homemaker and piano teacher. David graduated with academic honors from Clarksville High School in 1966 and earned his B.S. degree from Austin Peay in 1972.
During the 1960s, the Bibb family of four traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada via pulling a small travel trailer behind a 1959 Chevrolet station wagon, during which time they camped in numerous national parks and visited countless friends and relatives.
While he was editor-in-chief of APSU's highly-rated The All State student newspaper, he worked closely alongside the newspaper's associate editor, Rebecca Frances Taylor, also of Clarksville, Tenn. David and Rebecca soon began dating and the couple soon fell deeply in love. After graduating with honors and receiving the Drane Award, the university's highest singular honor bestowed upon a graduating senior, he pursued a Master of Science Degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Rebecca, three years his junior, remained at Austin Peay and assumed the editor-in-chief position of The All State before graduating with honors.
The couple's long-distance romance flourished, and they decided to wed during the winter academic break on Jan. 4, 1971, in Gallatin, Tenn. The newlyweds resided in Tallahassee until David earned his Master's Degree in Geography Studies in 1973. Upon graduation, he was employed by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in its Southeast Sunbelt Region location in Atlanta, Ga., which blossomed into a 35-year career with GSA. Meanwhile, Rebecca (a.k.a. Becky) spent her time working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs while they lived in the Atlanta area.
The couple started their family in January 1978, when their daughter, Elizabeth Claire Bibb, was born. Jonathan David Bibb, their second child, was born in June 1984. David rose through the ranks of GSA, and in 1978 was tapped to serve in the GSA's Washington, D.C. headquarters. He had significant responsibilities within the Office of Real Property and the Public Buildings Service (PBS) of GSA, including working internationally with cohorts in both governments and corporations on initiatives to improve professional office efficiencies to maximize productivity, work environments, and job satisfaction for employees at all levels. He became a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive and a two-time recipient of the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive. He twice received the GSA Administrator's Distinguished Service Award, the agency's highest honor. His GSA responsibilities were vast, and anecdotally, he was featured in a CNN News Sunday morning feature as "The Man Barack Obama Had to Go Through to Get to the White House," which conveyed his and GSA's immense role in transitioning the sizable staffs of outgoing President George W. Bush to newly elected President Obama who took office in January 2009.
During his tenure at GSA, David concurrently served two terms as chairman of the U. S. Access Board and two terms as its vice-chair. The Board is a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. These standards apply to all agencies across the federal government, as well as to many activities outside the government throughout American society. The Board's jurisdiction includes the built environment, transportation, communication, medical diagnostic equipment, and information technology. He led a group of 13 Presidential appointees and 12 senior federal executives from numerous federal agencies, as well as a professional staff.
Also, while at GSA, David was the agency's Environmental Executive and Advocate, was a member of the Board of the Washington-area Combined Federal Campaign; served three terms as chair of The Workplace Network, an organization of government agencies from across the world that provide similar services to those of GSA for their national governments; and worked closely with his private-sector colleagues as Government Advisor to the Board of CoreNet Global and as a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Building Owners and Managers Association.
Starting his Federal service as a management intern, David reached the rank of Acting Administrator of GSA, a position in which the only name above his on the GSA Administrative flow chart was that of the President of the United States, with approximately 12,000 GSA employees under his leadership.
Shortly following his retirement from GSA, David joined the real estate investment firm of NGP Management, LLC, as Executive Vice President, a company that buys and sells commercial buildings all over the U.S. He remained associated with NGP Management until his passing.
Along with his talented and devoutly Christian wife, the Bibbs have been deeply involved in a variety of church and community non-profit affairs in Prince Williams County, Va. Their children grew up and matriculated through public schools, with each later attaining college degrees and assuming professional careers. They each have two children, thus providing immense joy and satisfaction to their grandparents, who have resided in Woodbridge, Va., for several decades.
David's lifelong and intense "sports fandom" has been diverse, but focused primarily on his collegiate alma mater, the NCAA Division I Austin Peay State University Governors and the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball Club, a love that is shared with his younger brother Jeff and their respective families and friends. He also has had lifelong interests in baseball card collecting, history and autobiographical book reading, and in many forms of popular music, including having amassed a broad collection of recordings. David and Becky have also traveled extensively having touched down in multiple world countries.
David is survived by his wife of 54 years, Rebecca Taylor Bibb of Woodbridge, Va., children Elizabeth Bibb Binder and husband Grant Binder (children: Hudson David and Willa Claire) of Washington, D.C., and Jonathan David Bibb and wife Patricia Ormeno Bibb (children: Benjamin Jonathan and Santiago David) of Woodbridge, Va., a younger brother Jeffrey Vincent Bibb and his wife Sharon Bossard Bibb of Clarksville, Tenn., and brothers-in-law Max Taylor of Woodstock, Ga. and Steve Taylor and his wife Lyle Fisher of Clarksville, Tenn., along with nephews and nieces Josh Taylor, Melissa Taylor Wilson, Landon Bibb, Chelsey Bibb Norman, grandnieces and two Bibb Cousins and four Cox cousins.
David was predeceased by his parents Dr. Leon and Margaret Cox Bibb and his parents-in-law Clark and Betty Mathis Taylor, all of Clarksville, Tenn.
David Leon Bibb's Celebration of Life will be on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 1400 G St., Woodbridge, VA 22191. Visitation will begin at 1 PM, Celebration of Life Service at 2 PM with a Reception of family members and friends following, all at the church.
The family asks that any Memorial Contributions be made in David Leon Bibb's name to a charity of the giver's choice.
"To God be the Glory for great things He hath done by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of the world!"