Charles Edward Gibson III

With family there to comfort him, Charles Edward Gibson III died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, November 12, 2019.

Charles was born in Waynesboro, Mississippi on November 20, 1942, the first born son of Capt. Charles E. Gibson, Jr. of Monticello, Mississippi and Minnie Norsworthy Gibson Simpson of Waynesboro. His father, a pilot, died in the service of his country shortly thereafter. Charles was raised by Minnie and her five sisters (our “colony of aunts”) and learned early on to enjoy the attention and love of women. Charles spent his youth in Waynesboro with his younger brother, William Harry Gibson and his cousin, Tyson DeLoach. He loved to read detective novels and comic books, the former of which he read voraciously throughout his life.  

Charles was an exceptional student and soon outpaced the math curriculum of the Waynesboro school system. He matriculated into the Marion Military Academy. He enjoyed the curriculum, but could not bear the absence of co-eds and left after one year.

In about 1958, Charles and his family moved to McComb, Mississippi. There, he made many lifelong friends. Charles (“Hoot” as friends called him) enjoyed traveling the backroads of Pike County and across the state line to Skinny’s Barbecue. He graduated from McComb High School in 1960 and entered Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He played baseball, studied accounting and he was a charter member of the Tuesday Lunch Club. During his time at Millsaps, Charles made many friends whom he would keep and cherish for a lifetime.  He graduated in 1964 and went to work in New Orleans in the Boeing space program.  A year later, Charles entered the University of Mississippi Law School. He was known among his friends for a sharp academic mind and his wisteria purple 1960 Ford Sunliner convertible.  He married his first wife, Catherine, during law school.

In 1968, Charles graduated law school. He had his first child, Edward. He also began his service to his country as a pilot in the 172nd Airlift Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard, attending the USAF flight school in Laredo Texas. He returned to Jackson, Mississippi and began the practice of law. In about 1976, he married his second wife, Darian.  He had his second child, Gray, in 1977.  In the 1980’s Charles left the law, working first as a financial planner with Raymond James and then as a partner in the Inverness Construction Company. He returned to the practice of law in 1989, proudly advocating for the people of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. He married the love of his life, Mary Jeanne “Gigi” in 2000 and she joined him in the practice of law until his retirement in 2015.

Charles Gibson will be remembered as a man who enjoyed the finer things in life. He liked fine Italian shoes, big American cars, Irish linens and fine dining. New Year’s Day was his favorite holiday. Charles liked the idea of beginning anew and his New Year’s resolution was always the same: to drink no less than a bottle of champagne per month with a friend.  

He maintained his pilot’s license and loved to fly. He also loved boating and saltwater fishing. Whether by plane, boat or car and always with friends, family and his beloved wife Gigi, he explored the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and the islands of the Caribbean, always looking for (as he said) the “end of the road.” He enjoyed fishing with his son Edward and watching Star Wars and Star Trek with his son Gray. He was an excellent tennis player. He made the world’s best oyster pan roast and a fine filet mignon.  Above all, he enjoyed the company of those he loved. He called or visited his mother every day. He treated his family as friends and his friends as family. He loved music. He sang often and loudly and made a joyful noise. He never complained in public and on those occasions that life got hard, he “bucked up.”  Charles never looked back.

In death, Charles Edward Gibson III joins his father, Charles E. Gibson, Jr., his mother, Minnie N. Simpson, the “colony of aunts” (Margaret Norsworthy, Mildred Norsworty, Mary Norsworthy, Eliza DeLoach and Sarah Pledger), as well as paternal aunts, Kendall Gordan, Elizabeth Foley, and Gerry Hill Cleveland. Charles is survived by his wife, Mary Jeanne Gibson; his children, Edward Gibson (Susan), Gray Gibson (Joseph Valliere), Olivia “Lylee” Dodson (Matt Lowrey) and Rob Dodson (Lijia Xie); his grandchildren, Ellen, Catherine, Pierson, Charles Edward, Luci, and Adair; his brother William Harry Gibson, M.D. (Mynette); many cousins, among them, Tyson DeLoach (Susan) and Donald Gordon, M.D. (Anna), and friends too numerous to name here.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 on Saturday, November 16, 2019 at St. Simon’s on the Sound, 28 Miracle Strip Parkway, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 with a reception to follow at the Fort Walton Yacht Club, 180 Ferry Road, NE, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548.

In lieu of flowers, a donation many be made in his honor to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

Please visit www.daviswatkins.com to sign the guestbook, express condolences and share memories.