Mary Frances Bowen Gibbs

Mary Frances Bowen Gibbs
1930 - 2021
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Mary died at the age of 90, exactly the way she would've wanted - quietly, in her Carlsbad home just two weeks before she would have turned 91. Mary was born in Orange, CA and moved to Los Angeles at 10 years of age. She attended Immaculate Heart Training School, Immaculate Heart High School and Immaculate Heart College, and completed her education at UCLA. Mary's husband, Mickey Gibbs, died of an accident in his early 50s and she moved to RSF. She was a devoted mother to her six children and she raised them to be happy and successful adults. Mary was a devout Catholic for which she attributed her rich and rewarding life. She was an inspiration to us all... She was a true Renaissance woman with a positive willingness to learn and explore. Mary did everything. She was a student of American history with an ardent love of her country and its history. She marched on Civil War battlefields in reenactment ceremonies. She flew as a passenger in World War II aircraft. She had an impressive library of American history which she recently donated to Thomas Aquinas College. She traveled to Tahiti by herself and sailed around the islands in a Schooner. She took herself to Dan's Bake Sale in Colorado. She also visited Greece and Rome. Mary realized her lifelong dream of seeing the land of her forbears when she biked around the Irish countryside with a handful of her closest high school girlfriends. In the 1960s and 70s she was an executive assistant to Charles Luckman, the founder, chairman and CEO of the International Architects and Engineers firm in Los Angeles. She was also an administrative assistant to two different CEOs of International companies. As a newcomer to RSF in the 80s, Mary joined her family's real estate firm in the Village of Rancho Santa Fe. During her 30 year real estate career in RSF, one of her proudest achievements was the marketing and sale of the 44 lots in the Rancho Santa Fe Groves. Mary partnered with her daughter, Katie, (Kathleen), Hawkes for over 15 years. Preceded in death by her husband Michael Edward Gibbs, her parents Dorothy and Thomas Bowen, and her brother Tom Bowen. She leaves a gaping hole in the lives of those who survive her her children, Michael Gibbs, Dr. Mary Gibbs (Reeves), Kathleen (Katie) Hawkes, Therese Gibbs (Shook), Colleen Gibbs (Zegarra) and Patrick Gibbs; her sisters, Elizabeth Sorrels, Dorothy St. Amour, Kathleen Van Sant Fisher and Colleen Whiat; and her nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Mary was the oldest of her six siblings and their "General". She was as pretty as a picture, and we miss her terribly! Please sign the guest book online at legacy.com/obituaries/ ranchosantafereview