We lost our mother Ethel Catherine Gibbons of 97 years to natural causes on Monday, October 26, 2020 at her home in Rapid City.

Private family interment will take place at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis.

It's impossible to summarize ninety-seven years of good living in one little article: but here is a brief intro to Ethel (Rose) Gibbons.

Ethel was born in Chamberlain, SD in 1923. Both her grandmother and grandfather homesteaded 160 acres. That humble beginning has grown to over 8,000 acres of ranch/farmland with her brother still on the farm.

She finished eight years at country school (as a Hoosier, this is a relatively new term to me) and four years of high school - graduating in I942.

The ''war" (we all probably still think of WWII, as "the war") had started for the US and Ethel says there was an exodus to the West Coast. She, three other graduates from her high school, and the mother of one of the kids, joined the exodus and landed in Seattle. They each kicked in $25.00 for the trip plus their gas coupons and cash for tires when needed. Ethel says the roads were bad and there were plenty of flats. I asked her if she was Rosie the Riveter, she said no, but her sister-in-law (last name of Rose, of course) did become one. Ethel worked in an office. In 1944 she married an Army guy, Joe Gibbons, in Mississippi where he was stationed upon his return from overseas. They are the parents of three boys and one girl. Her first son was born on August 6, 1945, which, of course, was the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. The second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan three days later on August 9, 1945.

The family returned to South Dakota in 1945 after the end of the war. Their daughter was born in 1947 on the well-remembered August 9. Two more sons were born to complete their family; Kenneth in 1951 and Jack in 1953. The Gibbons' moved to Rapid City in the late 1950s. Both Joe and Ethel later became   civilian employees of Ellsworth Air Force base. She worked in the office supporting both the Titan program and the Minute Man missile sites.

Next stop for the family was Bunker Hill Air Force base in Indiana, later renamed Grissom Air Force Base for astronaut, Gus Grissom, where they again were civilian employees. They had a nice country property that the family all enjoyed.

In 1994, Joe died in Indiana, and in 1996 Ethel returned to South Dakota to her home of 19 years here in Rapid City. She was an avid member of the Canyon Lake Senior Center where she hiked with a great group of friends, volunteered, enjoyed a "lunch bunch" and sang with a group of 25-30 members who called themselves The Joyful Gals and Guys. They traveled to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. She laments the decline in members at that center, going from a high membership of 1900 to about 900 members today.

One of the possible reasons for the decline in senior center membership, Ethel believes, is the growth of places like St. Martin Village who offer many great opportunities on its own campus.

Ken, one of Ethel's sons, insisted she take a look at an apartment here at SMV last year; she decided to sign up right there and then but Ken reminded her that they had an appointment to visit another location. She fell in love with the spaciousness of the apartments, high ceilings and, in her case, the wonderful southern exposure. Ethel gave up driving a years ago - before anyone told her she had to due to declining vision. Despite this roadblock she still can be seen cheerfully taking part in many activities at SMV.

Ask Ethel to tell you about her experiences with Life Alert. She has learned quite a bit after setting hers off more than once and having "strange men in my bedroom at night." She follows Gary Stuard's recommendation to test the system once a month.

Ethel is survived by her children; Joe (Judy) Gibbons, Kenneth (Linda) Gibbons, Jack Gibbons, daughter; Barbara "Kaity" Parks, brother; Roy Rose, 6 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Ethel is preceded in death by her husband, parents, daughter-in-law Linda (Roberts) Gibbons, and sister-in-law Dolly Rose.