Paul Peter Gibian

Paul Gibian, 84, died suddenly on September 1, 2010. He was the husband of Patty Gibian and maintained residences at Foulkeways Continuing Care Retirement Center in Gwynedd, PA and Nantucket, MA. The youngest son of Richard and Vera Gibian, Mr. Gibian was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia on September 27, 1925. Owing to the Nazi occupation of his country and the impending threat of World War Two, Mr. Gibian and his family fled to England in 1939. In 1941 the family immigrated to Pittsburgh, PA. After attending Central Catholic High School, Mr. Gibian began college at Carnegie Tech but entered the Navy before graduation, serving as an electronic technician. When World War Two ended, he returned to Carnegie Tech and obtained his Bachelor�s of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Upon graduation, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a Master�s degree in mechanical engineering. For over 40 years Mr. Gibian worked in various technical, management, and senior leadership positions. In 1990, Mr. Gibian retired from General Signal. After leaving the private sector, Mr. Gibian volunteered in Bratislava, Slovakia as part of the International Executive Service Corps which was part of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was then appointed the first President of the Czech-Slovak American Enterprise Fund, a venture capital fund sponsored by the State Department. This position allowed Mr. Gibian to return to Prague, where he and Patty resided for 17 years, with summers spent at their Nantucket home each year. Mr. Gibian served on the several Boards of several companies, including Tesla, while he lived in Prague. The couple moved to Foulkeways in November, 2009 but continued to enjoy their second home on Nantucket. Mr. Gibian loved seeing his children and grandchildren. Until his death, he also read voraciously, played tennis frequently, enjoyed some regular poker games, and gathered for meals with his friends in the �Romeo� group. Mr. Gibian also skied every winter in Europe until the past year. Mr. Gibian married his first wife, Gene Thompson, in 1953. They had six children: Paul, of Issaquah, WA; Timothy and wife Kerri Hesley, of Frederick, MD; Stephanie Karakozian and husband Vasken of Watertown, MA; Andrew, of Manitou Springs, CO; Kevin, of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and James and wife Julie of Old Greenwich, CT. Mr. Gibian had ten grandchildren: Jessica, Joseph, Nicholas, Nina, William, Katherine, Pierson, Whitney, Leighton, and Stefanie, and one great-grandchild, Ryan. Gene died in 1968 and in 1976 Mr. Gibian married Martha (Patty) Parke. The couple lived in Southport, CT for many years before his retirement from General Signal. Patty�s son from a previous marriage, Thomas and wife LeeAnn of Wilton, CT, also survive Mr. Gibian. Mr. Gibian was preceded in death by his older brother, George. The oldest brother, Thomas, resides in Sandy Spring, MD with his wife, Peg.The family will receive friends and out-of-town guests on Friday, September, 17, 2010 from 5-9 PM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenwich, CT. Family, friends and guests will gather for a celebration of life burial service to be held at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield, CT on Saturday, September 18. 2010 at 11 a.m. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Nantucket Athenaeum Library at 1 India Street, Nantucket, MA 02554 or Nantucket Cottage Hospital at 57 Prospect St., Nantucket, MA 02554. Arrangement are under the direction of the Spear-Miller Funeral Home 39 South Benson Road, Fairfield. Condolences may be expressed on-line at www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com