The Cuda Beast family is mourning the death of Helen Gibbs, mother of car owner and driver Paul Gibbs and crew member Louise Dockery. As the following obituary details, Mrs. Gibbs was an eager participant in the drag racing endeavors of her late husband, Reece Gibbs. I met her officially at a Huntsville promod race in 2010. Two years earlier, while driving around north Georgia looking for information for the old Double H Drag Strip website with the late Ronnie Evans, one of the site's essential contributors, we decided to stop by Paul's shop to see if he was around. He wasn't, but Mrs. Gibbs graciously came out to chat for a couple of minutes with the two strangers who had just driven up into her yard. She also helped me fill in some blanks in the history of the famous Strip Teaser Ford Thunderbolt that passed through the family's hands in the 1960s.
Here is Mrs. Gibbs' obituary, with funeral arrangement information. Please keep the Gibbs family in your thoughts and prayers.
Helen Marie Gibbs
( January 19, 1936 - February 10, 2017 )
Mrs. Helen Marie Gibbs, age 81, of Mineral Bluff, Ga., passed
away on February 10, 2017, in the Fannin
Regional Hospital.
Born in Blue Ridge, Ga., she was the daughter of the late William
and Velvia Lewis White. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Helen
was known for her kindness, gentleness and tender hearted. She endured many
hardships in her life both physically and emotionally due to illness and the
loss of loved ones. She had worked very hard for many years at Levi Strauss and
in later years she worked at her Late husbands' side, Reece Gibbs. Whether it
was under the hood of a car, at the flea Market or being his care giver, she
remained a constant presence. She loved traveling with Reece in all his years
of drag racing endeavors. Helen was also preceded in death by her son, Jackie
Edward Gibbs; siblings, Wendell White, Clarence White and Frances White.
Survivors include her loving children and their spouses, Paul J. and Karen Gibbs of Mineral Bluff, Louise Gibbs Dockery and Keith E. Dockery of Stone Mountain, Ga., and Gloria Jean Gibbs and John M. McBride of Canton, Ga.,; brothers and sister-in-laws, Tommy and Annie White of Atlanta, Kimsey and Lula White and Junior and Pauline White all of Blue Ridge; sister and brother and laws, Geraldine White and Robert Bruce of Ellijay; grandson, Anthony Paul Gibbs of Mineral Bluff, and a host of other relatives and friends also survive.
Funeral services will be conducted on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. from the Akins Funeral Home Chapel with Min. Sammy Ledford and Min. Ronnie Merrell officiating. Music will be provided by the Shepherd's Trio and Alan Davenport. Interment will follow in the Hot House Baptist Church Cemetery with the following gentlemen serving as pallbearers: Paul Gibbs, Charles Lewis, Eddie Price, Rodney White, David Messer and Junior White. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Keith Dockery, John McBride, Tommy White and Kimsey White. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday evening from 4-8 p.m. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.akinsfuneralhome.com. Akins Funeral Home of Blue Ridge, Ga., is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include her loving children and their spouses, Paul J. and Karen Gibbs of Mineral Bluff, Louise Gibbs Dockery and Keith E. Dockery of Stone Mountain, Ga., and Gloria Jean Gibbs and John M. McBride of Canton, Ga.,; brothers and sister-in-laws, Tommy and Annie White of Atlanta, Kimsey and Lula White and Junior and Pauline White all of Blue Ridge; sister and brother and laws, Geraldine White and Robert Bruce of Ellijay; grandson, Anthony Paul Gibbs of Mineral Bluff, and a host of other relatives and friends also survive.
Funeral services will be conducted on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. from the Akins Funeral Home Chapel with Min. Sammy Ledford and Min. Ronnie Merrell officiating. Music will be provided by the Shepherd's Trio and Alan Davenport. Interment will follow in the Hot House Baptist Church Cemetery with the following gentlemen serving as pallbearers: Paul Gibbs, Charles Lewis, Eddie Price, Rodney White, David Messer and Junior White. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Keith Dockery, John McBride, Tommy White and Kimsey White. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday evening from 4-8 p.m. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.akinsfuneralhome.com. Akins Funeral Home of Blue Ridge, Ga., is in charge of the arrangements.
