Thomas “Tom” Coleman Gibson
February 12, 1924 – January 15, 2017
From the 95th BG Memorials Foundation Facebook page:
With heavy hearts the Memorials Foundation and the Heritage Association announce that Thomas “Tom” Coleman Gibson, formerly of Wilmington, DE, left formation on 15 January 2017 at age 92. Tom was a 336th pilot. He passed away peacefully while visiting his family in Cape May, NJ. Folded wings.
Tom was born on 12 February 1924 to Thomas Cecil and Sarah Elberta (Sawyer) Gibson in Nashville, TN. He was, reads his obituary, “a devoted husband and father, engineer and marketing executive, WWII pilot, writer and syndicated columnist.” “Raised in a family that worshipped God faithfully,” Tom’s obituary continues, “he often spoke of his increasing awe of the Creator and spent his last years immersed in study of the Holy Bible seeking an understanding of ultimate reality.
“A veteran of the United States Army Air Forces, Tom honorably served our country during World War II. Assigned to the 95th Bomb Group and stationed in England for 5 months, he flew a B-17 Flying Fortress as 1st pilot on 18 bombing missions over Germany. He was training to fly the B-29 Superfortress when the war ended and flew supplies into Germany after the peace agreement was signed. He was awarded the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the ETO Ribbon with 2 bronze battle stars.
“After the war, he married Dorisse Gentry of Old Hickory, TN, in 1946 and was later blessed with four children. Tom left Vanderbilt University Engineering School in 1943 to serve in the US military and returned to graduate in 1948. He had a lifelong passion for music and photography. He played the alto saxophone and ushered at the original WSM Grand Ole Opry in Nashville while working as well as a professional photographer when in school.
“Following graduation from Vanderbilt, Tom spent five years in engineering with Phillips Petroleum in Texas and TN. In 1953, he transferred to DuPont in sales and market development, covering territories in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, California, Oregon and Washington. He moved into marketing management in 1956 with an assignment in Chicago and transferred back to Wilmington, DE, in 1958.
“His 35-year career at DuPont originally focused on the development of three major new products: mylar polyester film, Tedlar PVC film, and the PET plastic bottle for carbonated soft drinks. Later, he worked in Latin America and Asia-Pacific developing marketing personnel and finally consulted with leadership groups in and outside DuPont on organizational effectiveness and quality improvement.
“After retirement, Tom traveled, tutored underprivileged students, and wrote about the negative consequences of unbridled free-trade. His articles were published in The News Journal in Delaware and The Tennessean and later syndicated.
“Tom was preceded in death by his wife Dorisse of over 65 years and his son Paul Bryson. He is survived by his sister Jean Piland of Nashville, TN, two daughters Deborah Wolff and Tracey Reinbold of Vero Beach Florida, and his son Thomas Christian of Philadelphia, PA and Cape May, NJ.