James Ellis “Jimmy” Gibbs, 82, of Smyrna, DE, passed away on October 26, 2025.
     He was born in Covina, CA on March 10, 1943, the son of the late William Ellis Gibbs and Virginia Jewell Gibbs.
     Jim graduated from Kenai High School and the Univ. of Alaska, in addition to receiving applied knowledge and certification from Ross Hill Controls, Caterpillar Generators, Boilers, Blowout Prevention, and Safety H2S.
     He proudly served in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Sergeant (E-5) in Vietnam in 1966.
     He lived in various places, including California, Delaware, and the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.
He began his work experience in his father’s outboard motor and chain shop in Soldotna and with his father’s farm machinery on the family’s Alaskan Homestead. Then he went to work as a rig mechanic/electrician on oil drilling rigs, working on land rigs at the Swanson River Fields, Kalifonski Beach gas field, and North Slope Fields, and was stationed on oil production platforms in Cook Inlet and Canmar’s SSDC in the Beaufort Sea.
Jim worked over the years in various positions including Mechanic Electrician, Turbine Mechanic, SCR Electrician, and as a Mechanic. He had been employed at Ellery Nurseries, the AK. Highway Dept., Pool Arctic Drilling, Montgomery Drilling, the Lake and Peninsula School District, and Parker Drilling Co.
     He was a member of IBEW Roughnecks and Drillers Union, the Delaware Farm Bureau, Nicholas Gibbs Historical Society, TN.; the American Legion; a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and former Secretary-Treasurer of VFW Post 10046.
     Jim enjoyed fishing and mechanical work and was a member of the Soldotna Alaska Historical Society and docent for Homestead History.
     He is survived by his wife, Patricia Ellery Gibbs; children, Ellery Gibbs, Nicholas Gibbs, Aurora Gibbs; grandchildren, Matthias, Megan, Miriam, Elijah, Elizabeth, Ethan; 5 great grandchildren; a sister, Janice Caggiano; and a brother, Gary Gibbs.
     He was predeceased by his sister, Joyce Gibbs and brother-in-law, Daryl Graff, brother-in-law Frank Caggiano, and sister-in-law, Wanda Gibbs.
     Funeral Services will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, November 6 at First Presbyterian Church, 118 W. Commerce St., Smyrna, with military honors and burial to follow at Holy Hill Cemetery, Smyrna. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.matthewsbryson.com