Mary Dean Gibson

MARY DEAN MAGRUDER GIBSON
MACON – Mary Dean Magruder Gibson, 98, died Monday, October 11, 2010 in a local hospital. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, October 18, 2010 at Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Pio Nono Avenue with the Rev. Ron Holland officiating. Burial will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, October 21, 2010 in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Prairie Grove, AR.
Mrs. Gibson, wife of the late Liford Leroy Gibson, was born in Prairie Grove, AR the daughter of the late Robert Wilson Magruder and Priscilla Dean Magruder. She earned her BA Degree in teaching at the University of Arkansas and taught in Prairie Grove, Fayetteville, Pulaski County and Pine Bluff schools in Arkansas, as well as, in the Sam Barth School for Boys Private School, New Orleans, LA, in the Caddo Parish System, Shreveport, LA and in the Baltimore County, MD school system. In June 1980, Mrs. Gibson retired from the Bibb County Georgia School System – T. D. Tinsley Elementary School receiving the McKibben Lane Award in 1975. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Honorary Society, Pi Lambda Theta Honorary Society, a lifetime member of the Georgia State Retired Teacher, Bibb County Retired Teachers.
Mrs. Gibson was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Marquette and Joliett Chapter No. 29 of Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, the Daughters of the American Revolution where she served as Chapter Registrar for more than twelve years, the Nathaniel Macon Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, the Daughters of the American Colonists Major William Horton Chapter. She was also a member of Magna Charta Dames – National Society, the most Noble Order of the Garter (Knights of the Garter) and Colonial Order of the Crown (Charlemagne). Mrs. Gibson was a member of the American Clan Gregor Society – a direct descendant of Alexander Magruder, Immigrant.
Mrs. Gibson was a member of the Christian Church – Disciples of Christ, Vineville Avenue and over the years had been active in the life of the church. During retirement, the Gibsons researched family history and contributed copies to libraries in Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia.
Mrs. Gibson was outstanding in many fields, especially education. Her special love was teaching children to read, without which she fully believed they would be handicapped for life. She was the perfect example of a genteel, southern lady and her many talents and accomplishments were and are still respected by all who knew her.
Some of her surviving relatives include Anne Swanson Brown of Washington, DC, Jerry Morris of Bixby, OK and Jim Bell of Huntsville, AL. Special friends who survive are Kitty and Pat Pullen, Fran Williams, Nona Cohen and Shirley Booze.
Her family and friends want to thanks all those who assisted in her care and comfort during her time at John Wesley Villas, Coliseum Northside Hospital and Heartland Hospice.