October 6, 2020 – West Bend, WI – Richard Davis “Doc” Gibson, 95 of West Bend passed away Saturday, October 3, 2020 at Kathy Hospice in West Bend.
He was born October 25, 1924 in Winona, Minnesota, the son of the late Oscar and Ada Marion (nee Davis) Gibson.
Doc grew up in Eveleth, Minnesota and graduated from Eveleth High School in 1943.
Ten days after his graduation he was drafted and became a proud member of the 104th Timberwolf Infantry Division. He served in combat for seven months, from1944-1945, as his unit crossed Belgium, Holland and Germany.
After the war, he completed college and graduated in 1951 from Northwestern Medical School, Chicago, Illinois.
On November 28, 1952 he was united in marriage to Carolyn Jean Kappe in Beecher, Illinois. After his internship and surgical training, they moved to West Bend in 1955. Here he practiced medicine for 41 years, before retiring from the West Bend Clinic in 1996. He was a leader in the West Bend medical community and loved by his patients throughout Washington County
Those Doc leaves behind to cherish his memory include his wife Carolyn and four sons: Richard (Kristine Mooney) Gibson M.D. of Brookfield WI; James (Anita) Gibson of Eden Prairie, MN; Robert (Sheree) Gibson M.D. of West Bend, WI; and Thomas (Tracy) Gibson of Stockbridge, WI and his son-in-law William Anderson of Brookfield, WI. He leaves ten grandchildren: Jennifer (Keith) Rishavy; Madeleine (Adam Martz) Gibson; Emma Gibson M.D.; Mollie Gibson; John “Jack” Gibson; Samuel Gibson; Henry Gibson; Abbey Gibson; Mateos Fleischman; and David Gibson Anderson, and two great-grandchildren Wesley and Winnie Rishavy. He also leaves one sister Mary Murdock and one brother Harry (Sharyn) Gibson M.D. as well as other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his daughter Jane Carolyn Anderson, by his parents, parents- in-law Henry and Ella Kappe, brother-in-law Fredrick Murdock, brother and sister-in-law Robert and Geraldine Duefel, and niece Susan Duefel.
During his years in West Bend he was a member of the Immanuel United Church of Christ. Throughout his life he had a love of the outdoors born while guiding on the Boundary Waters in his youth. He enjoyed fishing, fly tying, deer and turkey hunting, and visits to Theresa marsh, especially when shared with his sons. For years “Gibby”, as he was known to many of his friends, took a morning walk with friends, no doubt dissecting the prospects of the Green and Gold.
The video below was recorded in November 2017. Richard ‘Doc’ Gibson was a doctor at St. Joe’s starting in 1955 – 1996. “When I first came here I had a small office on Main Street and then I moved into a nicer office space on the south side and there I practiced for quite a few years,” he said. Doc remembers the old St. Joe’s as a “nice functioning hospital run by the nuns.” “Everybody worked together,” he said.
Per his request there will be no formal service. A private burial will be held at Washington County Memorial Park in West Bend.
Donations and memorials to a charity of your choice or to The Albrecht Free Clinic, 908 West Washington St. West Bend, WI 53095 are appreciated.
The family would like to thank his physician, colleague, and friend G. Michael Mosley M.D. and his staff for the kind and compassionate care through the years.
Myrhum-Patten Funeral & Cremation Service has been entrusted with Doc’s arrangements.
In his own words “My retired life from 1996 on was spent here in West Bend. West Bend has been good to me and my family.”
Rest in Peace Doc.
I remember my first child’s birth…I panicked because in the delivery room, I over heard the nurses saying , Dr Gibson was at the theater watching a movie..he’s on his way..I was relieved when he came in..he delivered my daughter 7-14-1962..I asked him how many stitches I had and he said…I wish I could get paid for all the stitches ..lol lol