Gary J. Gibbs

OMA, Wis. - Gary J. Gibbs, 62, of Oma, passed away peacefully in his home, family at his side after a battle with cancer on Feb. 13, 2017.

Gary was born on Sept. 28, 1954, in Racine to John and Darlene (Matkus) Gibbs. He attended Racine area schools and graduated from Washington Park High School, class of 1972.

The family moved to Mercer in 1973. Gary met Susan Hildebrandt in Mercer, where they married on June 7, 1980. Gary worked a variety of jobs in the area before receiving his associate degree from WITC in Ashland in the field of Information Technologies. He was later employed with Burton Industries, where he worked for almost 22 years.

Gary was a member of Elks Youth Drum and Bugle Corps and later an active member of Marty's Goldenaires. Gary was an avid sportsman who enjoyed downhill skiing, windsurfing, hunting, fishing, and archery.

He is survived by his daughter, Erika (Matt) Roeder, of Park Falls; his mother, Darlene Gibbs, of Mercer; his sister, Theresa (Deen) Palmquist, of Mercer; his nieces, Karen Palmquist and Heather Palmquist; his nephew, Eric Palmquist, of Mercer; brothers-in-law, Earl Hildebrandt, of Mercer, and Russ (Diane) Hildebrandt, of Middleton; and his sister-in-law, Ruth (Hildebrandt) Marino, of Lincoln, Calif.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Susan (Hildebrandt) Gibbs; his father, John P. Gibbs; and his father- and mother-in-law, Frank and Laurine Hildebrandt.

Cremation has taken place.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, Feb. 17, at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Mercer, at 11 a.m., with visitation one hour prior to mass.

Memorials are preferred to the UW-Madison McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research c/o Dr. Paul F. Lambert, Director University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705-2275, or online at mcardle.wisc.edu.

Bolger Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Minocqua, is in charge of the arrangements.