Dr. David Wylie Gibson Obituary (1944 - 2016)

Dr. David Wylie Gibson, age 71, of Evinston, FL passed away on Sunday, January 31, 2016 in Gainesville, FL after a long battle with ALS. Dave was born in Youngstown, OH on October 5, 1944 to H. Donald and Josephine Wallace Gibson. He grew up in New Bedford, PA and was a longtime resident of Gainesville, Florida, having moved to Gainesville in 1974 from West Palm Beach, and residing in nearby Evinston, FL since 1980. He is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Betty Fitch Gibson, daughter Amy (Ryan) Lovelady, son Evin Gibson, son William (Katherine Sayler) Gibson, grandson Landon Lovelady, and brothers Bruce (Ligia) and Robert (Johanna) Gibson and many wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews. David was an avid musician, academician and active member of McIntosh UMC and Evinston UMC. He began his academic career at the University of Cincinnati where he received a BS in Civil Engineering, and continued learning through earning a MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama. He taught at Palm Beach Junior College and joined the University of Florida faculty in 1974, where he was integral to the establishment of the Geomatics program and provided significant contributions nationally to that field. He remained at UF as a member of the faculty for 40 years where he retired in 2008 as a Professor Emeritus in Geomatics, but continued his love for teaching until 2014, and was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of performing research as a visiting research scholar in 2012 at Ecole Superieure des Geometres et Topographes (ESGT) in Le Mans, France. His spirit and zest for life carried him through all of his endeavors even until the end. He had the "Gibson" eyes and a beautiful smile. A celebration of life service will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, February 13, 2016 at the Evinston United Methodist Church (8505 SE 182 Ave., Micanopy). The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, please contribute to Evinston UMC (PO Box 344, Evinston, FL 32633) or McIntosh UMC (PO Box 689, McIntosh, FL 32664).