Kathryn (Kate) Jean Gibson, at age 90, left us to join the other angels on September 6, 2015, with her daughters by her side in Meridian, ID. Kate was born at Mercy Medical Center in Nampa, ID, to Glenn and Gladys (Grant) Hamburg on Friday, February 13, 1925. Kathryn was their only child. Her grandfather rode a horse all the way from Melba so he could be there for her birth. One of her favorite stories happened when she was five years old: She would go to the railroad tracks near her house in Nampa to play, but her father had told her not to go to the tracks. He ended up tying her to a tree in their front yard with a "for sale" sign around her neck. She said every time a car came by she hid behind the tree. Her grandmother lived across the street and she always said the neighbors knew who she was mad at, her grandmother or her father, by whose house her doll buggy was in front of. She graduated from Nampa High School in June 1943. After a 3-month courtship, she and her husband Arthur (Art) eloped to Elko, NV, where they were married on June 8, 1943. Her dad was very upset, because she was signed up for RN training and they would not accept a married woman. After marrying Art, she moved to Kuna in 1943 with his parents. They farmed in Kuna until 1961 when she and her family moved to Meridian. They had three wonderful daughters: Glenda (Glenny) Jean, Kathy (Sassy) Ann, and Gladys (Nubbins) Joy. She worked nine years for Ada County Nursing Home on the SE corner of Fairview and Curtis in Boise, ID. When the nursing home was closed in 1971, she went back to school for her LPN license and graduated in 1972 from BSU. She then went to work for St. Luke's downtown for 17 years until her retirement in 1988. Art and Kate retired on the same day in 1988, and they spent many years traveling the United States in their fifth-wheel, pick-up camper, and (later) motor home. They also went on several cruises and enjoyed camping at the Oregon coast with friends they'd met along the way. After Art's death in 2003, she would summer in Waldport, OR, at the Handy Haven RV Park in her 23-foot motorhome where Hahn and John took very good care of her. She would walk two miles every day along the Alsea River and Pacific Ocean with her loving dog as her companion. Our cherished mother, grandmother, and friend touched everyone she met with her sparkling warmth, grace, and beauty. She never knew a stranger. Everyone who knew her loved her. She is survived by her three daughters: Glenda Longstreet of Kuna, Kathy Singer of Meridian, and Gladys Joy (Mark) Fereday of Boise; her niece (like a daughter), Karin Penny Wakefield of Meridian; her nine loving grandchildren: Julie (Anne) Beitzel of Boise, Susanna Maggard of Nampa, Mark (Cheri) Longstreet of Eugene, OR, Joy Henshaw of Boise, Adam Winder of Mountain Home, Brian (Trish) Johnsgard of Eugene, OR, Michael (Tiffany) Johnsgard of Eugene, OR, Kevin (Melissa) Johnsgard of Eugene, OR, and Daniel (Anna) Johnsgard of Cottage Grove, OR; 20 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great-grandchildren; her many nieces and nephews; her close friend Arlene Bledsoe of Horseshoe Bend, ID, and her friend and close companion, Bruce the Chihuahua. Kate was preceded in death by the love of her life, her husband Art; her parents, Glenn and Gladys Hamburg; her grandmother Kate Zell; her aunt Gean Grimes; and her son-in-law Bob (BJ) Singer. Kate's family wishes to thank Hospice for their concerned and tender care of Kate for the last few months of her life. They would also like to extend special thanks to the caregivers at Diamond View Assisted Living who helped to make her life enjoyable and secure. In addition, they would like to thank Hahn and John from Handy Haven RV Park in Waldport, OR for loving our mother like their own. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Meridian Humane Society in the name of Kathryn Gibson. They built a wonderful dog park that our mother would have loved. Dress will be casual for the memorial service to be held at 11 a.m. Friday, September 18, at the Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, 150 W. Maestra St. in Meridian. A private family interment will be held at Cloverdale Memorial Park at 3 p.m.
Add comment