Margaret Elizabeth Van Note Gibson, 96, was born to Lucy and Marion Van Note on April 17, 1920, in Massachusetts and died peacefully at home with family in Tinton Falls on March 17, 2017. Her formative years were spent in the seashore town of Belmar.
She and her beloved brother, Jim, both attended St. Rose Grammar School and St. Rose High School, where Marg excelled in sports and was the captain of the girls’ basketball team.
Upon her graduation she took a job at an insurance company in Newark. After World War II broke out she went to work for the Signal Corps in Shark River Hills. It is there where she met the love of her life, her husband, Fred Gibson, and fell in love.
They raised six children in Fred’s hometown of Freehold. She was active all her life with various charitable organizations from the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, school PTOs, etc. She, Fred, and their circle of friends were instrumental in the fundraising efforts that helped to build our town’s first hospital, Freehold Area Hospital, now CentraState Medical Center.
They saw a lot of the world together and upon retirement, led a pretty nomadic existence, spending years in Arizona and southern California, only to return to their true home of the Jersey Shore and Seabrook Village, where they have been for the last 13 years.
Margaret was predeceased by her husband, Fred, her parents, and her brother, James Van Note.
She is survived by her loving children, Sally Kowalski, Katherine Gibson, Ellen and her husband Ron Dana, Meg Gibson, Jimi Gibson and his wife Terese Burns, and Joann Gibson Roddy and her husband Kevin; and her cherished grandchildren, Craig Kowalski and his wife Joy, Cara Kowalski Larned and her fiancé Michael Rose, Joanna Kowalski Chavers and her husband Greg, Douglas Boone Jones, Maya Bowen, Jessica Dana and her husband Eric Nilsen, Jordan Dana and his wife Kimberly, Piper Gibson and her partner Josh Williams, Nik Dulak, Emily Bolles and her fiancé Toby Weatherall, Greyson Bolles, Erin Roddy, William Roddy, and Logan Roddy; and her great grandchildren, Meg Kowalski, Sarah Kowalski, Jack Kowalski, Grace Larned, Jason Larned, Kennedy Larned, Lily Bowen, Miles Bowen, Henry Bowen, Noah Dana, Shea Nilsen, Logan Nilsen, Kaya Dana, Ava Dana and Gibson Williams.
Relatives and friends are invited to a celebration of Margaret’s life to be held March 22, 2017, at 11 a.m. at Seabrook Village Town Square, 3004 Essex Road, Tinton Falls. Memorial donations may be made to the Seabrook Scholars Fund, 3004 Essex Road, Tinton Falls, NJ 07753, or the The Ken Cup, 111 Crow Hill Road, Freehold, NJ 07728. Higgins Memorial Home, Freehold, was in charge of arrangements.
