Richard Carl Gibson, 94, of Huntingtown, MD passed away peacefully on February 2, 2020 at the Burnett Calvert Hospice House. He was born in Huntingtown, MD on April 26, 1925 to Mattie Roberta Cranford and Arthur P. Gibson at the Gibson family home on Cox Road. He was the youngest of 10 children (2 girls and 8 boys), all of whom predeceased him. After graduating from Calvert High School in 1942, Carl attended Strayers Business School in Washington DC, but was called back to the family farm after his brother joined the Army during World War II. He remained on the farm until 1949 when he began working at the U.S. Civil Engineering Laboratory in Solomons, Md. On February 15, 1951, he was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War, and was later discharged on February 14, 1953. He returned to his previous job at the Civil Engineering Lab, but subsequently transferred to Andrews Air Force Base, working for the Operations and Tracking Department. In the early 1960’s he moved to the Foreign Trade department at the Census Bureau in Suitland, MD, and remained there until his retirement in 1989, although he continued to work part time in the Maryland State Income Tax Office in Annapolis, MD, until 1990.
After his retirement, Carl pursued his passion for gardening, spending countless hours during any season, planting, growing, and tending to his many flowers, trees, and vegetables. Well into his 90s, he could be found outside every day continuing to tend to his family farm. Carl was also an acknowledged expert on the local Huntingtown and Calvert County history and genealogy, and he has left behind many priceless records of the early days of the county. However, his deepest and most satisfying passion was reserved for his daughter, grand-children, and great-grandchildren. His family’s fondest memories of him will be of his incredible love and pride in all of them.
Carl is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gloria Bowen Gibson of Huntingtown his daughter, Alice Dawn Gibson Suhosky (Robert David), Huntingtown; three grandsons (Justin Hickman (Crystal), Fort Benning, GA; Nicholas Suhosky, Huntingtown; and Matthew Suhosky, Boston), a great-granddaughter, Serenity Hickman, and a great-grandson, Damian Hickman. He is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Teresa Trueman Gibson, and Shirley Cranford Gibson, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
