John Stanley Gibbs

John Stanley Gibbs was born on September 9, 1936, with a fishing pole in one hand and a shotgun in the other. His dad, Eddie Gibbs, and his mother, Marty Gibbs, lived in Oklahoma City at the time but soon moved to Seminole, OK and then to Shidler, OK to a Phillips Pipeline camp. John was the oldest of three children, with younger siblings Sue and Bill. Before his senior year at Shidler High School, his dad took a promotional job with Phillips Petroleum in Del City, OK and John finished high school at Midwest City High School. Shortly after, John attended Northern Oklahoma Junior College and then Central State University.
John's career began with J. I. Case Company as District Manager for four years but in 1968, he became a General Motors Dealer starting with the Balch Buick Dealership, then acquiring the Chesnutt Pontiac/GMC Dealership, the Oldsmobile franchise and lastly the Chevrolet franchise. For twenty-seven years he operated this business at 400 East Highway, Holdenville "as the deal-makin' man". John was always known for his integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. A recent comment was "John was the best boss I ever had."
John was a strong proponent of community service and community financial support. He became a member of the Holdenville Chamber of Commerce in 1968, having served as Membership Chairman, Finance Chairman, Industrial Committee Chairman. He was a member of Hughes County Red Cross, Holdenville Retail Merchants and Hughes County Industrial Authority. He was a Director of People's State Bank, The Bank, N.A., First National Bank (now Sovereign Bank) and First United Bank.
One of his favorite positions was a board director of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission, District IV Commissioner for 8 years serving as Vice-Chairman in 1987 and Chairman 1988. From 1992 to 95, he was a member of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. John was instrumental in locating the Tyson Pork Division for Holdenville. He along with the Holdenville Mayor Jack Barrett, the Oklahoma Governor David Walters, and his longtime friend, Delmas Ford flew to Springdale, AR to secure Holdenville as the site for the pork division in 1991. G is Gibbs in GHB Farms. John was a member of First Baptist Church in Holdenville, Ducks Unlimited, Wild Turkey Federation, National Rifle Association, Quail Unlimited, and Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society, He has been honored many times for his affiliations such as being the Oklahoma representative in 1988 at the signing of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. And he was the recipient of the President's Award in 1982 of the Oklahoma Automobile Dealers Association.
That pole and gun was used early in John's life. At about six years old, John's father took him to the nearby ponds around Shidler, OK and the Arkansas River and Kaw Creek. Several times Eddie would load up fishing and hunting gear and he and John would travel from Shidler to the Glover River in southeast Oklahoma in a 1948 GMC pickup. Camping near a water hole was not foreign to John.
John traveled thirteen times to Argentina for the sporting classic of shooting grey dove and pigeon, an equal number of trips to South Dakota for pheasant hunting where on one trip he shot a rare black pheasant, and to the Amazon River for Red-bellied piranha and to Canada for Walleye and Northern Pike. And of course, he frequented local ponds and that special place he called the 'honey hole pond' just north of Holdenville.
John is survived by his loving wife, Linda, his son, Scott and wife, Angela, his sister Sue Dickenson, his grandchildren Lezley Goff, Ashley Washburn, Easton Gibbs, Courtney Williams, great-grandchildren Jaden Gibbs, Donovann Gibbs, Easton Gibbs, Jaley Goff, Kinzley Goff, Kashlyn Gibbs, Ryder Washburn and Roman Williams plus cousins JoAnne Collins and Jim Eckland, nephews Eddie Dickenson and Jay Dickenson. He is also survived by Wonella Brewer, his office manager for 37 years.
As told just recently, John helped people quietly.
Pallbearers are Richard Carr, Trent Hodgins, Doug Humphreys, Darran Johnson, Melvin Reynolds, and Lance Wilson. Honorary pallbearers are P.D. Brown, Chad Dillingham, John Groendyke, Jim Gustin, Glen Johnson, Ed Kirby, Bill McNutt, Rusty Shaw, and Mike Stallings.
Viewing will be 10:00am to 7:00pm, Monday, April 21, 2025, at Hudson-Phillips Funeral Home in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
Funeral service will be 2:00pm, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at the First Baptist Church of Holdenville.
Interment will follow at Holdenville Cemetery.
Services are under the direction of Hudson-Phillips Funeral Home.