Bonnie Maxine Gibson's Obituary
Bonnie Maxine Gibson of Broken Arrow, formerly of Norman, Oklahoma, passed away on July 22, 2024, after 92 years of a beautiful earthly life well-lived.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Arrow Heights Baptist Church at 11:00 am on Monday, July 29, 2024, with a reception to follow. In place of flowers, donations may be made to Hospitality House of Tulsa in her name.
Born in Ardmore, Oklahoma on December 26, 1931, Maxine was the daughter of Jeff and Bonnie Webb and enjoyed “only child” status for 4 years before her sister Pat was born. Having been a bit spoiled, she was not too happy with the new arrival. So she packed some toys in her suitcase, grabbed a package of crackers, and set off to go live with her grandmother in Ardmore. As soon as she was out of sight of the house, her dad went to get her and found her sitting on the suitcase eating her crackers. She ended up liking Pat after all and was later thrilled to become a big sister two more times when Carole and Shirley were born.
When it came time for school, her mother put her in 2nd grade, but the teacher said Maxine needed to be in first grade because she couldn’t read yet. Her mom argued with the teacher who finally relented and said Maxine could stay in 2nd grade if she learned to read by the end of six weeks which of course, she did. After her dad got injured at work, her parents bought a grocery store/café and moved the family to McMan. Their house was in the back of the store and the school was across the street. During high school, she was selected for a special music group -- one of 8 singers chosen from a field of 150. She cited that as the beginning of her musical career.
After graduating from Dundee High School, she attended Southeastern State in Durant, earning a bachelor’s degree in education. She got her first job in Pauls Valley teaching 6th grade in the morning and music in the afternoon.
During the summer of 1955, Maxine worked in an insurance office in Pauls Valley to earn extra money. (Her teaching salary at that time was $2700 per year.) One afternoon while driving down Main Street, she spotted a black ’55 Chevy with a good-looking guy driving in the opposite direction. A few days later, she and a friend went to Fields Tavern for some pecan pie after church and she immediately noticed the handsome driver of the Chevy, George Gibson, sitting in a booth with some guys she knew. Maxine and George had their first date on July 1 and after a whirlwind courtship, were married on October 1, 1955, a marriage that lasted 56 years until George died in 2011.
Maxine and George welcomed their first baby, Kenneth Allen on September 9, 1956, and the following spring, they moved to Norman. That fall, Kenneth died unexpectedly after a short illness. It was a devastating blow for them, but they leaned on family, friends, and their church to support them through a very hard time.
Over the next few years, they welcomed three more children, Jane, Georgia, and David and she made them all take piano lessons. None of them were ever very good at it but Maxine persevered, shuttling them to choir practices and chaperoning youth music trips. There was always music in the home and all three kids successfully learned to carry a tune. Maxine went back to work in 1972 and taught kindergarten and music. She was a passionate and creative teacher and touched the lives of hundreds of children throughout her career. As a music teacher, her gifts were on full display as she wrote, choreographed, and directed children’s music performances that would rival the best Broadway show. Maxine retired in 1993 after 27 years of teaching. She and George decided to build a house in Broken Arrow to be closer to family and most importantly, to her two young grandchildren, Cole and Courtney.
A few years after retirement, Jane & Dave’s son Andrew joined the grandkid crew in 1998 with Georgia’s youngest son Connor bringing up the rear in 2002. Maxine always enjoyed having small, rambunctious children running through the house, playing the piano and the organ, and rummaging through the toy cabinet to pick out the noisiest and most obnoxious toys that their parents had banned from their own homes. Fortunately, George had grown a bit hard of hearing by then, and with his hearing aids out, he tolerated the grandkid visits quite well while Maxine reveled in the chaos.
Maxine and George started exploring the world via cruise ships around this time. They took the whole family on an Alaskan cruise with a trip into Denali Park and a holiday cruise through the Caribbean a couple of years after that.
They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Hawaii. The trip was made even more memorable by the huge earthquake that hit the island on the morning of their arrival. Many of the day tours were canceled, but true to form, Maxine made the best of it and came back with stories of seeing the seismograph and feeling the aftershocks.
Maxine spent her retirement years teaching children’s choir, volunteering for Hospitality House, organizing and managing the neighborhood bunco tournaments, keeping up with her Beta Sigma Phi sorority sisters, and, of course, making time for her children, grandchildren, and extended family. She never met a stranger and always had a good story to tell. She has been a beloved member of her community and will be deeply missed by family and friends near and far.
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